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Farmers of Churu district in Rajasthan called for a ‘Kisan Ekta Tractor March’ on November 17 in support of their demands, but the administration stopped the march midway and confiscated the farmers’ tractors. A meeting was held late at night at Krishi Pant Bhawan between the state agriculture minister and leaders of the movement, following which the farmers postponed the protest after getting assurances.
The agitators demanded payment of pending insurance claims to the tune of Rs 500 crore for the 2021 Kharif season and settlement of pending insurance claims for various crops. Furthermore, they demanded transparency in the functioning of the insurance portal and claims, curbs on the shortage and black marketing of diammonium phosphate and urea, and inclusion of mung and chickpea crops in the PM Dhan Dhanya Yojana.
This isn’t the first time farmers have complained about non-payment of claims. Farmers in many areas of Rajasthan have filed similar complaints in this regard. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was intended to provide insured farmers with claims for their damaged crops. But the arbitrary nature of claims settlement by insurance companies has raised concerns.
Bhagirath Chaudhary, a farmer from Jhunjhunu district, said his Kharif crops of millet and mung have been destroyed by 50-70 per cent due to seasonal reasons and diseases for the past three seasons. Consequently, production has reduced by 4-6 quintals for millet and 3-4 quintals for mung per bigha.
Chaudhary said he had insured his crop after it was damaged by excessive rainfall in 2023 and 2024 but never received a claim. No employee from the company or the agriculture department came to inspect the crop. After that, he never insured it again.
On July 29, 2025, in response to a question asked by an MP, the Lok Sabha was informed that claims worth Rs 17,421.93 crore were reported in Rajasthan from 2020-21 to 2023-24 (Kharif season), of which claims worth Rs 16,474.21 crore were paid and claims worth Rs 947.72 crore are pending, which were to be paid by insurance companies.
Among the state’s districts, farmers of Jodhpur have claims of Rs 136.53 crore pending, followed by those in Nagaur (Rs 126.79 crore), Ajmer (Rs 118.06 crore) and Jaipur (Rs 116.40 crore).
A list of companies filing claims in these districts is available on the state agriculture department’s website. The company insuring farmers in Jodhpur district is Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited, Jaipur. In Nagaur and Jaipur districts, it is Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, Jaipur. In Ajmer, it is Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited, Jaipur.
The guidelines for the PMFBY mandate that insurance companies pay farmers their insurance amount within two months of harvest. Any delays will result in a 12 per cent penalty. The state government’s approval of the insurance company’s obligation to pay insurance companies is also a factor in the delay.
In addition to pending insurance claim payments, questions have also been raised about insurance claim criteria and collusion with government officials. On October 17, 2025, Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena, speaking to the press in Hanumangarh district, accused insurance companies of embezzling Rs 122 crore.
According to Meena, 170,000 farmers applied for crop failure compensation between Kharif and Rabi 2023 and 2024, but insurance companies rejected the applications. When Meena conducted an investigation, he found that the companies had not conducted a survey of the farmers’ damaged crops, and that the signatures of agricultural officials and farmers were fraudulent. He also alleged that agricultural department employees were involved with the companies.
Agriculture in the country is being increasingly affected by climate change. However, the central government has reduced the budget for PMFBY compared to previous years. An amount of Rs 12,242.27 crore was allotted for the scheme in 2025-26, a 23 per cent decrease from the revised estimate of Rs 15,864 crore in 2024-25.