Transforming India’s agriculture insurance for a resilient future
The Hindu Business Line
Apr 27, 2025
Core Idea
This piece traces the five-decade evolution of India's agricultural insurance, from crop-only schemes to a broader push for covering livestock and equipment, and argues that true resilience for farmers requires expanding beyond crops into a more holistic, inclusive protection framework.
Audience
Insurance company boards, CEOs, strategy heads, private equity investors, policymakers.
Key Takeaways
01
Crop Insurance Has Matured, But Coverage Stays Narrow
India's crop insurance journey runs from the 1985 Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme through NAIS in 1999 to the 2016 launch of PMFBY, which capped farmer premiums at low, subsidized rates. Despite this progress, agricultural insurance in India remains heavily crop-focused, leaving other farm assets largely unprotected.
02
Livestock and Equipment Insurance Remain Vastly Underpenetrated
Cattle and livestock insurance actually dates back to 1970, yet penetration has stayed minimal, with only 21.01 lakh livestock insured in the most recent financial year against roughly 10.08 crore households owning livestock or poultry. Bundled schemes like the Unified Package Insurance Scheme exist but remain little-known and underused.
03
The Path Forward Is Inclusive, Tech-Enabled, and Community-Driven
The article calls for microinsurance products priced as low as ₹50–100 per animal, coverage extended to indigenous breeds and small ruminants, and insurance linked to veterinary care to reduce mortality. Community-based models like farmer cooperatives, along with public-private partnerships for equipment coverage, are positioned as key levers to scale protection sustainably.