National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)

What was the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme?

The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) was India's principal crop insurance scheme, introduced from the Rabi 1999-2000 season by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Its objective, per the scheme document, was to provide financial support to farmers when a notified crop failed because of natural calamities, pests or diseases, so that they could continue farming into the next season.

NAIS is now closed. It was discontinued from Kharif 2016 and replaced by the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which was launched on 18 February 2016. This guide explains what NAIS was and, crucially, points farmers to the scheme that has replaced it, because searching for "NAIS" today still leads many farmers to a scheme they can no longer join.

According to the NAIS scheme document hosted on the PMFBY portal, NAIS was implemented by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC) and was available to both loanee farmers (compulsorily, through their crop loan) and non-loanee farmers (voluntarily).

How did NAIS work?

NAIS was an area-based yield insurance scheme. Instead of assessing each individual farm, it fixed a threshold yield for a defined insurance unit (such as a block or mandal) based on past years' data. If the actual yield of the notified crop in that unit fell below the threshold; measured through crop- cutting experiments: every insured farmer in the unit received a proportionate claim, regardless of the loss on their specific field.

Farmer premium under NAIS:

• 2% of the sum insured for all kharif food crops and oilseeds.
• 1.5% of the sum insured for all rabi food crops and oilseeds.
• Actuarial rates (around 5% and above) for annual commercial and horticultural crops.

Small and marginal farmers received an additional premium subsidy on top. The scheme covered a wide basket of crops; roughly 35 crops in kharif and 30 in rabi across participating states.

Who was eligible for NAIS?

Under NAIS, coverage applied to:

• Loanee farmers. Those who took a crop loan (Seasonal Agricultural Operations loan) for a notified crop were covered compulsorily.
• Non-loanee farmers — any other farmer growing a notified crop in a notified area could join voluntarily.

Who could not benefit:

• Farmers growing crops not notified by their state for that season.
• Farmers in areas the state government had not notified under the scheme.

Because NAIS is discontinued, no farmer can newly enrol today. This is the single most important point. New coverage is only available under PMFBY.

What replaced NAIS, and what should farmers do now?

PMFBY replaced NAIS and the Modified NAIS from 2016. PMFBY retained the area-yield approach but reduced and standardised the farmer premium to a uniform 2% for kharif, 1.5% for rabi and 5% for commercial and horticultural crops, with the central and state governments splitting the balance of the actuarial premium as subsidy. PMFBY also added technology, smartphone-based crop-cutting, remote sensing and faster claim settlement.

If you are a farmer looking for crop insurance, you should enrol under PMFBY, not NAIS.

How to apply for crop insurance now (PMFBY) instead of NAIS

1. Decide your route: loanee farmers are enrolled automatically through their crop loan account at the bank unless they opt out; non-loanee farmers enrol voluntarily.
2. For voluntary enrolment, visit your bank branch, a Common Service Centre (CSC), an authorised insurance intermediary, or register on the National Crop Insurance Portal at pmfby.gov.in.
3. Submit land records, the sowing declaration and bank account details, and link Aadhaar as required for PMFBY.
4. Pay the farmer's share of the premium (2% / 1.5% / 5%) before the notified cut-off date for the season and crop.
5. Keep the acknowledgement and, in case of loss, report crop damage within the prescribed window through the PMFBY app or your insurer; the PMFBY helpline is 14447.

Legacy NAIS claims

New enrolment under NAIS is not possible. Any unresolved claim relating to a season when NAIS was still in force must be pursued through the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited and the state agriculture department that notified the crop and area, using the records from that season. There is no fresh-application route for NAIS.

Help and where to verify

Because NAIS is a closed scheme, the live official resource is the PMFBY portal (pmfby.gov.in) and its helpline 14447. The archived NAIS scheme document is also hosted on that portal. For anything relating to your specific season, crop or legacy claim, contact your state agriculture department or the Agriculture Insurance Company of India. Do not pay any agent who claims to "enrol" you afresh under NAIS. The scheme no longer accepts new members.