The Centre put the blame on the erstwhile UPA government for allowing private players into the crop insurance sector, and said the steps taken by previous governments had worsened the agrarian crisis.

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the suicides of farmers had come down in 2016.

The Opposition staged a walkout from the House after accusing the Minister of making no effort to improve the situation of farmers. They added that none of the issues raised during the short duration discussion on the farmers’ distress was addressed. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said it was a mistake on his part to seek such a discussion in the House.

The Agriculture Minister, who was responding to the debate, listed the measures taken in the last three years. “I want to assure farmers that we are addressing their problems. Along with the State governments and the policies of the Prime Minister, we are addressing the challenges and also succeeding,” he said.

On the issue of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), he said it was the UPA government that brought private companies to the sector. “It was in 2007 that private insurers were permitted into insurance schemes. During the UPA government’s tenure, only one public sector insurance company was involved as against five from the private sector. However, in the new PMFBY, launched in 2015, the number of public insurers has increased to five,” he said, adding that the Gujarat and Haryana governments had already expressed their interest to create insurance companies to deal with crop insurance schemes.

He also said that total insurance premium collected by companies could be more compared to settlement of claims when crops are not damaged due to calamities. He said the number of suicides of farmers has come down to 11,458 in 2016 from 12,602 in 2015.

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