In June 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) plans to launch CROPIC (Collection of Real Time Observations & Photo of Crops), a study to gather crop information using field photographs and Artificial Intelligence(AI) based models.
- The project is initially planned as a pilot study for the Kharif 2025 and Rabi 2025-26 seasons, with a nationwide rollout expected from 2026.
About CROPIC:
i.CROPIC is an initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) with a dual purpose of monitoring crop health and stress and automation of crop loss assessment and payment of claims to affected farmers using computer vision technology and photo-analytic models.
- It will utilize modern technologies like AI and crowdsourcing to bring efficiency and transparency in the agricultural sector.
ii.Initially, it will be rolled out in at least 50 districts per season.
- And these districts will be well distributed in different agro-climatic zones covering the three major notified crops (Cereals, Millets, Pulses).
iii.The Fund for Innovation And Technology (FIAT) under PMFBY will be used for funding CROPIC.
- FIAT has been allocated a total budget of Rs 825 crore to support and promote technology-driven innovations in crop insurance schemes across India.
CROPIC workflow:
i.Data Collection: Farmers and field officials will use a dedicated CROPIC mobile application(app) to take geo-tagged photographs of crops 4–5 times per season at various stages of their growth cycle.
ii.Crowdsourcing Model: Collecting images directly from the fields ensures a high volume of real-time, location-specific data.
iii.AI Analysis: The following analysis is done:
- Crop type and its current growth stage.
- Health of the crop.
- Assessment of any visible damage or stress.
iv.Dashboard: The analyzed information is then presented on a web-based dashboard for easy interpretation by government officials and other stakeholders.
About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) :
i.The PMFBY was officially launched in February 2016 by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi. It is a Central Sector Scheme(CSS) under the MoA&FW.
ii.It is a flagship crop insurance scheme designed to provide farmers with affordable insurance coverage against crop yield losses caused by natural calamities, pests, and diseases.
iii.Under the PMFBY, farmers contribute a nominal share of the total insurance premium—2% for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial and horticultural crops. The remaining premium amount is subsidized jointly by the Central and State Governments.
iv.The Government of India(GoI) in January 2025 approved the continuation of PMFBY and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26 with a total budget of Rs.69,515.71 crore.
About the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW):
Union Minister- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Constituency – Vidisha,Madhya Pradesh, MP)
Minister of State (MoS) – Ram Nath Thakur (Rajya Sabha – Bihar); Bhagirath Choudhary (Constituency – Ajmer, Rajasthan)
