Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is 'farmer-friendly': PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took to Twitter and wrote an open letter to the farmers of the country and addressed them on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, saying that the government has taken several steps to help farmers, one among which is the `Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana`.

"The news of the Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana must have already reached you. Farmers in our country have often felt at risk-at times from crop losses due to natural disasters, at times by falling market prices. Over the last 18 months, we have taken several steps to help those of you who faced such difficulties," he wrote.

"There have been insurance schemes for farmers in the past as well. However, they were unsuccessful because of various reasons-ranging from high premium rates to low claim value and non-coverage of localized crop loss. As a result, not more than 20 percent of farmers opted for crop insurance; and those who did faced many difficulties to get their due. Eventually, farmer`s faith in insurance schemes eroded over time," he added.

Prime Minister Modi said that it was against this backdrop that the government engaged with states, farmers and insurance companies following which, it came up with the "farmer-friendly" Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi hailed the scheme which was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday, as a boost to the farmers across the country.

In a series of tweets, he said it was government`s gift to the farmers on the occasion of festivals of Lohri, Pongal and Bihu.

He expressed confidence that the new Crop Insurance Scheme will bring about a major transformation in the lives of farmers, saying it expands the definition of disaster and addresses whatever was lacking in the existing programmes.