The Bharatiya Jatana Party government in Rajasthan is considering the establishment of a “risk relief fund” for the farmers to resolve the financial difficulties faced by them because of high premium charged by crop insurance companies. The claim amount paid by the insurance companies to the farmers is often less than the amount of premium charged.
Minister of State for Cooperative Gautam Kumar Dak said here on Thursday (July 24, 2025) that the proposed fund would protect the farmers against the “arbitrariness” of the insurance companies and give them financial relief. Mr. Dak has sought the suggestions of all stakeholders for evolving an effective structure of the fund.
“We need to consider practical options for the insurance of farmers receiving crop loans under the short-term cooperative credit structure, so that their premium burden is reduced and their claims are settled easily,” Mr. Dak said at a meeting with the representatives of cooperative banks and primary agricultural cooperative societies.
The Minister said a provision for 1% of the loan amount as premium would be appropriate for farmers, as this would ensure the payment of premium in proportion to the loan amount. This would be many times less than the premium currently being charged by the insurance companies, he added.
The insurance companies have at present fixed different rates of premium for different age groups of farmers. Mr. Dak said a uniform premium rate would be fixed for farmers of all age groups under the risk relief fund, and they would be registered both online and offline to avail of the benefits of the fund.
Principal Secretary (Cooperative) Maju Rajpal, Apex Cooperative Bank Managing Director Sanjay Pathak and elected representatives of cooperative societies, who attended the meeting, gave suggestions for effective operations and seamless functioning of the proposed fund.
Published – July 25, 2025 03:10 am IST