On 21st July 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW) launched 3 technological initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) to empower farmers and streamline their operations in New Delhi, Delhi.
- Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister for Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju launched the new initiatives, including YES-Tech (Yield Estimation System, based on Technology) Manual, Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) portal and AIDE (Sahayak) mobile app, to provide farmers with accurate weather data, yield estimates, and crop insurance access, effective from the current tender cycle of 2023-25.
YES-TECH Manual:
i.Developed after testing in 100 districts of India, the YES-TECH Manual helps in the implementation of YES-TECH, a technology-driven yield estimation system.
ii.It enables accurate yield assessments at the Gram Panchayat level in the agricultural sector.
WINDS Portal:
i.It is a centralized platform to manage hyper-local weather data collected by automatic weather stations and rain gauges at taluk/block and gram panchayat levels.
ii.The portal aids in risk assessment, crop insurance, agriculture advisories, and disaster mitigation, thus supporting the agricultural sector and rural economy.
AIDE mobile app:
The Android platform app aims to revolutionize crop insurance more accessible and convenient for farmers with a seamless and transparent approach.
Key highlights:
i.Minister of Agriculture announced the delinking of subsidies, ensuring that farmers receive their claim payments without waiting for State actions.
ii.This provides financial security to farmers as the centre releases its share of subsidies independently.
About Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW):
Union Minister- Narendra Singh Tomar (Constituency-Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State- Sushri Shobha Karandlaje; Kailash Choudhary.
