Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday reviewed preparations for the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the Kharif 2026 season, with emphasis on expanding farmer coverage, technology-driven monitoring and strengthening weather infrastructure.
The review was conducted during the 64th State Level Crop Insurance Coordination Committee (SLCCIC) meeting held at Lok Seva Bhawan under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Anu Garg.
The meeting discussed the continuation of PMFBY in the state for Kharif 2026 in line with the Centre’s guidelines. Policy issues, including the existing “cup and cap” model, coverage of localised calamities and post-harvest losses, also came up for detailed deliberations.
The committee reviewed progress under the Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS) project, which aims to establish automatic weather stations and rain gauges across the state. Garg directed district administrations to expedite the identification of suitable locations for the installations.
Officials also reviewed the functioning of the State Project Monitoring Unit (SPMU), constituted to improve the efficiency and transparency of PMFBY implementation. The unit comprises experts in project management, information, education and communication (IEC), GIS, software, capacity building and procurement, and is responsible for scheme monitoring, digital platform management, awareness campaigns, data management and inter-agency coordination.
The meeting discussed measures to ensure uninterrupted functioning of the SPMU and considered proposals for providing financial assistance to the Directorate of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment and the Cooperation Department.
The committee laid stress on increasing farmer enrolment under the crop insurance scheme, ensuring 100 per cent coverage of AgriStack and Kisan Credit Card holders, wider use of digital crop survey tools, complete collection of crop-cutting experiment data and greater use of technology for monitoring scheme implementation.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department Sachin Ramchandra Jhadav, Director of Horticulture Kalunge Gorakh Waman, Registrar of Cooperative Societies Manish Agrawal, Director of Economics and Statistics Bijay Bhushan Nanda, ORSAC Chief Executive Rashmita Panda and senior officials from various departments attended the meeting.
