The Centre has begun discussions with states to revise the livestock insurance scheme for cattle under the National Livestock Mission by virtually waiving premiums for farmers. Coverage for the existing livestock insurance component of the mission, launched in 2014, remains poor due to several factors, including higher premiums paid by farmers, delays in claims settlement, and lack of awareness among farmers.

“Currently, the insurance scheme does not cover even 1% of the cattle population,” an official from the department of animal husbandry and dairying told FE.

At present, among the 540 million livestock in the country, there are about 190 million cattle.

Officials said that a lack of interest among livestock farmers in the insurance scheme had led the government to reconsider overhauling it. The objective is to ensure that the Centre and states share most of the subsidy burden per Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Under the livestock insurance scheme, the Centre sets 4.5% of the amount insured as the maximum annual premium charged in every state except the northeastern and hill states. Premium subsidies are limited to five animals per household per beneficiary.

Under existing norms, livestock farmers belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL), scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) categories in all states except the northeastern and the hill states pay 30% of the insurance premium. In contrast, all other farmers pay half premium. The rest of the premiums are shared between the Centre and the state.

Recently, the department of animal husbandry and dairying held stakeholder meetings with insurers and state governments to provide feedback on steps to expand the scheme with livestock farmers.

Last year, 0.18 million cattle deaths were reported in 13 states due to lumpy skin disease (LSD), and the insurance scheme would protect farmers from such diseases, the official said.

A recent report by the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing states that no animal was insured under the Livestock Insurance Scheme in 2022-23. In FY22, only 17,000 animals were insured.

The panel recommends that the department of animal husbandry take adequate steps to simplify the livestock insurance process and explore the possibility of developing an app-based livestock insurance facility for owners.