The Government on Wednesday countered the Opposition charge that private insurers were benefitting under its new crop insurance scheme, saying it was the Congress-led UPA which had first allowed private firms in 2007.
Replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the agrarian crisis, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the Government was alive to the problems of the farmers and was making efforts to resolve them.
The Minister, whose over-an-hour-long reply was repeatedly disrupted by the Opposition members, said if the previous Governments had taken adequate steps, the farmers' condition would not have worsened. The Opposition parties expressed dissatisfaction over his reply and staged a walkout.
Before leaving the House, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the Minister, instead of speaking about the past, should spell out what the Government was going to do to end the plight of farmers.
Responding to Opposition charge that private insurance companies were making profit under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), the Minister asked, "Who brought the private companies" in the schemeIJ
Singh added that State Governments have also been asked to set up their insurance companies, and Gujarat and Haryana have already expressed interest.Responding to the contention that the incidents of farmers' suicide have seen an increase, Singh said the number has come down to 11,458 in 2016 from 12,602 in the previous year. He was citing the data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The Congress member had initiated the debate on 'farmers' distress leading to rise in the incidents of their suicide in the country'. The issue was debated in lok Sabha last week.