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Type | Central Public Sector Undertaking |
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Industry | Agricultural Insurance |
Founded | December 20, 2002 [1] |
Headquarters | Plate B & C, 5th Floor, Block 1, East Kidwai Nagar, New Delhi - 110023, India |
Key people | Ms. Girija Subramanian [2] (Chairman & Managing Director) |
Services | Crop insurance |
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Owner | Ministry of Finance, Government of India |
Number of employees | 283 |
Website | www |
Footnotes /references [3] |
Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC) is an Indian public sector undertaking headquartered in New Delhi. It is a government-owned agricultural insurer under ownership of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. [1] The company offers yield-based and weather-based crop insurance programs in almost 500 districts of India, [4] and covers almost 20 million farmers, making it the biggest crop insurer in the world by number of farmers served. [5]
AIC aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases to restore their creditworthiness for the ensuing season; to encourage the farmers to adopt progressive farming practices, high value in-puts and higher technology; to help stabilize farm incomes, particularly in disaster years. The plan provides comprehensive risk insurance for yield losses due to natural fire and lightning, storms, hailstorms, cyclone, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado flood, inundation, landslide, drought, dry spells, pests/diseases, etc. [6]
AIC was incorporated on 20 December 2002 with an authorized capital of Rs. 1500 crore. The initial paid-up capital was Rs. 200 crores, which was subscribed by the promoting companies, General Insurance Corporation of India GIC (35%), NABARD (30%) and the four public-sector general insurance companies (8.75%) each, viz., National Insurance Co. Ltd., Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., New India Assurance Co. Ltd., and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. [7] [8]
AIC is under the administrative control of Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and under the operational supervision of Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Hyderabad, India, is the regulatory body governing AIC. [9]
AIC commenced its business operations from 1 April 2003 by taking over the implementation of the "National Agricultural Insurance Scheme" (NAIS) from GIC. AIC has been designated by the Govt., of India as the "Implementing Agency" of NAIS, its country-wide crop insurance program.
![]() | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience.(October 2018) |
AIC has 18 regional offices in state capitals across India. AIC sells agriculture and allied insurance products and schemes. A significant amount of business is derived out of the yield-based "National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS)", "National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP)" and the "Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS)". Some other products of AIC, developed in-house, are: [10]
Coffee Rainfall insurance is a unique rainfall insurance product designed in consultation with Coffee Board, Central Coffee Research Institute and coffee growers of the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The rainfall insurance provides effective risk management aid to those coffee growers likely to be impacted by adverse rainfall incidence. Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd. compensates the insured against the likelihood of diminished coffee output/yield resulting from shortfall / excess in the actual rainfall (as the case may be) for different coverage options. The insurance operates during 1 March to 31 August. [11]
Named-peril insurance covering six different species of plants/trees, available for commercial production of Bio-diesel, with optional cover against drought risk.
The scheme is designed in consultation with Spices board to provide conventional cover against death/loss of plant bushes. Cover available for small and large cardamom varieties.
Parametric named-peril insurance linked to plant population, available for potato growers under contract farming.
The policy covers against pecuniary loss suffered on account of total loss or damage to the trees occasioned by specific perils/risks like fire, flood, cyclone, storm, frost, pests and diseases.
Failure of Blossom shovers, Backing showers and Excess rainfall during monsoon and post monsoon seasons affect the crop yield. Scheme offers cover and is implement in all coffee growing zones of Andhra pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Mizoram, Odisha and Tamil Nadu with subsidy support from Government.
Covers death/loss of rubber trees against natural calamities and other non preventable perils, applicable to both mature and immature plants, based on establishment cost and loss of future returns.
Covers anticipated shortfall in crop yield on account of deficit and excess rainfall, consecutive dry and wet days, etc. It is voluntary for all classes of cultivators who stand to lose financially upon adverse incidence of rainfall and they can take insurance under the scheme. It is available for many of the seasonal field crops.
Named peril insurance designed in consultation with Coconut Development Board (CDB), covering coconut palms in the age groups of 4–15 years and 16–60 years, against death due to Fire, Lightning, Cyclone, Storm, Flood, Pests, and Widespread diseases, Earthquake, Severe Drought, etc. The pilot is available in specified districts of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. CDB would provide 50% subsidy on premium, and the concerned State to the extent of 25%, leaving the grower to pay the balance 25%.
It is a mechanism for providing effective risk management aid to those individuals and institutions likely to be impacted by adverse weather incidents. The most important benefits of Weather index insurance are,
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. This practice reduces the reliance of crops on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, along with the probability of developing resistant pests and weeds.
Crop insurance is insurance purchased by agricultural producers and subsidized by a country's government to protect against either the loss of their crops due to natural disasters, such as hail, drought, and floods ("crop-yield insurance", or the loss of revenue due to declines in the prices of agricultural commodities.
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways—open perils and named perils.
Kona coffee is the market name for coffee cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coffee from the Kona Districts can be described as "Kona." The weather of sunny mornings, clouds or rain in the afternoon, little wind, and mild nights combined with porous, mineral-rich volcanic soil create favorable coffee-growing conditions. The loanword for coffee in the Hawaiian language is kope, pronounced.
Parametric insurance is a non-traditional insurance product that offers pre-specified payouts based upon a trigger event. Trigger events depend on the nature of the parametric policy and can include environmental triggers such as wind speed and rainfall measurements, business-related triggers such as foot traffic, and more. Examples of current parametric products include the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), the African Risk Capacity (ARC), and the protection of coral reefs in the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico.
Microinsurance is the protection of low-income people against specific perils in exchange for regular premium payment proportionate to the likelihood and cost of the risks involved. This definition is exactly the same as one might use for regular insurance except for the clearly prescribed target market: low-income people. The target population typically consists of persons ignored by mainstream commercial and social insurance schemes, as well as persons who have not previously had access to appropriate insurance products.
Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production.
Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with Karnataka accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21% and Tamil Nadu. Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight anywhere in the world. There are about 250,000 coffee growers in the country; 98% of them are small growers. As of 2009, Indian coffee made up just 4.5% of the global production. Almost 80% of Indian coffee is exported; 70% is bound for Germany, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Greece, Netherlands and France. Italy accounts for 29% of the exports. Most of the export is shipped through the Suez Canal.
The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is a wholly owned government corporation managed by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. FCIC manages the federal crop insurance program, which provides U.S. farmers and agricultural entities with crop insurance protection.
Deficit irrigation (DI) is a watering strategy that can be applied by different types of irrigation application methods. The correct application of DI requires thorough understanding of the yield response to water and of the economic impact of reductions in harvest. In regions where water resources are restrictive it can be more profitable for a farmer to maximize crop water productivity instead of maximizing the harvest per unit land. The saved water can be used for other purposes or to irrigate extra units of land. DI is sometimes referred to as incomplete supplemental irrigation or regulated DI.
Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) is the oldest and most common form of the federal crop insurance programme in the United States of America. MPCI protects against crop yield losses by allowing participating producers to insure a certain percentage of historical crop production. A single policy protects crops against all natural perils including adverse weather, fire, insects, disease, wildlife, earthquake, volcanic eruption and failure of irrigation water due to unavoidable causes. It is delivered by private companies and reinsured by the federal government.
Agriculture in India is highly susceptible to risks like droughts and floods. It is necessary to protect the farmers from natural calamities and ensure their credit eligibility for the next season. For this purpose, the Government of India introduced many agricultural social insurances throughout the country, the most important one of them being Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
Farming systems in India are strategically utilized, according to the locations where they are most suitable. The farming systems that significantly contribute to the agriculture of India are subsistence farming, organic farming, industrial farming. Regions throughout India differ in types of farming they use; some are based on horticulture, ley farming, agroforestry, and many more. Due to India's geographical location, certain parts experience different climates, thus affecting each region's agricultural productivity differently. India is very dependent on its monsoon cycle for large crop yields. India's agriculture has an extensive background which goes back to at least 9 thousand years. In India, in the alluvial plains of the Indus River in Pakistan, the old cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa experienced an apparent establishment of an organized farming urban culture. That society, known as the Harappan or Indus civilization, flourished until shortly after 4000 BP; it was much more comprehensive than those of Egypt or Babylonia and appeared earlier than analogous societies in northern China. Currently, the country holds the second position in agricultural production in the world. In 2007, agriculture and other industries made up more than 16% of India's GDP. Despite the steady decline in agriculture's contribution to the country's GDP, agriculture is the biggest industry in the country and plays a key role in the socio-economic growth of the country. India is the second-largest producer of wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, silk, groundnuts, and dozens more. It is also the second biggest harvester of vegetables and fruit, representing 8.6% and 10.9% of overall production, respectively. The major fruits produced by India are mangoes, papayas, sapota, and bananas. India also has the biggest number of livestock in the world, holding 281 million. In 2008, the country housed the second largest number of cattle in the world with 175 million.
National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was launched during February 2011 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The mega project has three major objectives of strategic research, technology demonstrations and capacity building. Assessment of the impact of climate change simultaneous with formulation of adaptive strategies is the prime approach under strategic research across all sectors of agriculture, dairying and fisheries.
India has an economy bound to its historical agricultural tradition. In the North, the Indus valley and Brahmaputra region are critical agricultural areas with water supplied by the Ganges and monsoon season. Agriculture is a way of life for the majority of India's population; based on 2011 World Bank data, only 17.5% of India's gross domestic product (GDP) is accounted for by agricultural production. Women are an important but often overlooked population involved in India's agricultural production—they represent the majority of the agricultural labor force in India. Women's participation in the agrarian labor force plays out in various ways, impacting their economic independence, their decision-making abilities, their agency and access to education and health services. Many women in farming communities suffer poverty and marginalization, and issues of gender inequality.
Multiple-peril insurance coverage is a kind of insurance that bundles together multiple coverages that typically would be needed with each other. Typically the package may include coverage for business crime, business automobile, boiler and machinery, marine, or farm. The benefits to purchasing multiple-peril insurance coverage include lower overall premium costs for the insured because of the benefits that the insured receives on the basis of an all-in-one type package, as well as broader coverage for losses that typically occur together, like flood damage to an insured's basement and wind damage to an insured's roof.
The Pradhan Mantri fasal bima yojana (PMFBY) launched on 18 February 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an insurance service for farmers for their yields. It was formulated in line with One Nation–One Scheme theme by replacing earlier two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) by incorporating their best features and removing their inherent drawbacks (shortcomings). It aims to reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of crop assurance claim for the full insured sum.
Index-based insurance, also known as index-linked insurance or, simply, index insurance, is primarily used in agriculture. Because of the high cost of assessing losses, traditional insurance based on paying indemnities for actual losses incurred is usually not viable, particularly for smallholders in developing countries. With index-based insurance, payouts are related to an “index” that is closely correlated to agricultural production losses, such as one based on rainfall, yield or vegetation levels. Payouts are made when the index exceeds a certain threshold, often referred to as a “trigger”. Index-based insurance is not therefore designed to protect farmers against every peril, but only where there is a widespread risk that significantly influences a farmer’s livelihood. Many such indices now make use of satellite imagery.
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (DA&FW) is one of the three constituent department of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, the other two being Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The Department is headed by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.
Gramin Bhandaran Yojana, or Rural Godown Scheme, is an Indian government initiative to offer subsidies to individuals or organizations which build or repair rural godowns.