A crop insurance app defeats Indian farmers

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Editor's note: When a hailstorm destroyed nearly half the standing wheat crop on R’s farm in Madhya Pradesh this March, he turned to an app on his phone for help. The app, called Crop Insurance, was launched in December 2018 by the government to facilitate filing of claims for crop loss under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, or PMFBY, the flagship crop insurance scheme that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.  Developed as part of the government’s Digital India push, the app is one of the primary ways in which farmers can report crop loss. And, clearly happy with its functioning over the last four years, the government touts it as a “technological advancement in agriculture” that has “simplified and speed up [sic] the process of getting claims for farmers”. Tweets from government handles claiming farmers can instantly avail crop insurance through the app.  The reality, however, is very different. R, who owns a 15-acre farm in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and has paid crop insurance premiums for four years, tried registering his claim for Rs 2 lakh in …