PM Modi is presented a memento by Shivraj Singh Chauhan at the Kisan Mahasammelan in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh. (PTI Photo)
Reaching out to farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a new national agriculture market platform which will enable them, using a mobile phone, to sell their produce anywhere in the country, wherever they can get a better price. The digital platform will launch on Ambedkar Jayanti, April 14.
"We are setting up a National Agriculture Market, a virtual and digital platform, in the coming days," PM Modi told farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district while addressing the first of the Kisan Kalyan meetings.
PM Modi also unveiled guidelines for the recently-launched Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme.
"For Rabi we will not take more than 1.5 per cent premium and 2 per cent for Kharif. Even if there is only one farmer affected because of rain etc, then we will not survey the whole village but on individual basis give the farmer the insurance money. If there are no rains and farmer has not sown crops then also we will give the farmer some compensation. Earlier it used to take a lot of time to process insurance claims so we have decided that 25 per cent of the amount will be given immediately and remaining soonest," the PM said.
At a time when seven states are facing drought, the PM addressed several concerns that farmers have raised about on how the new crop insurance policy would work on the ground and won applause.
"Till now we have not been getting insurance amount. Now the eligibility for area of affected crop has been decreased which will be quite beneficial. The soil health card that he spoke about, I have personally benefitted from it," said farmer Jandel Singh.
But whether all promises will translate into action on the ground remained a concern.
"The same machinery which was processing crop insurance will be doing it for the new policy. So at the moment we cannot say anything for sure. We haven't got our due insurance amount. The farmer does not trust insurance policy. Now unless we get the benefits we cannot comment on it," said farmer Ishwarlal Jatav.