SRINAGAR: Apple growers in Kashmir, who have been seeking insurance coverage for many years to protect their crops against weather-related losses, will have to wait longer, with the Jammu and Kashmir government confirming that the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) is yet to be implemented in the Union Territory for horticultural crops.
The government told the assembly, in response to a question by CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, that the Agriculture Production Department said the process of identifying an insurance company had been initiated, but fresh tenders will be issued only after the Centre finalises revisions to the scheme’s operational guidelines.
The reply said bids had been invited from empanelled insurance companies to provide insurance for horticulture and commercial crops in Jammu and Kashmir.
For Kashmir division, four bids were received for traditional and high-density apple and saffron crops, while five bids were received for mango, litchi and saffron crops in Jammu division. Following evaluation, Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) emerged as the lowest bidder for Kashmir, while Tata AIG was the lowest bidder for Jammu.
However, the quoted premium rates posed a financial challenge. AIC quoted rates ranging from 10 per cent to 39 per cent for Kashmir division, while Tata AIG’s rates for Jammu ranged between 26.41 per cent and 41 per cent.
According to the department, the premium for traditional apple in Budgam, Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara was quoted at 34 per cent. For saffron, the rates in certain districts ranged between 37 and 39 per cent, exceeding the 30 per cent premium threshold. Similar concerns arose in Jammu division.
The department’s calculations for the 2025-26 bid block put the total sum insured at Rs 6,594.93 crore, against a premium amount of Rs 1,280.87 crore. The farmers’ share was estimated at Rs 329.75 crore, while the combined government contribution was Rs 950.93 crore.
The Union Territory’s share was calculated at Rs 182.35 crore, comprising Rs 85.39 crore towards the premium within the 30 per cent threshold and Rs 96.96 crore for the amount exceeding it. The Government of India’s 90 per cent share of the subsidised premium was estimated at Rs 768.57 crore, while the J&K government’s share was Rs 182.35 crore, including the cost of premiums exceeding the 30 per cent threshold.
The department said the matter was taken up with the J&K Finance Department, which, through its communication dated March 16, 2026, advised the Agriculture Production Department to issue a fresh tender covering all 20 districts to ensure administrative synchronisation, uniformity in implementation and alignment with national policy decisions.
The Union Finance Department also advised the Agriculture Production Department to undertake preparatory measures for the next tender block, covering Kharif 2026 to Rabi 2028-29, in accordance with Government of India directions.
The Centre, through a communication dated February 4, 2026, had similarly advised the UT administration to prepare a fresh tender for all 20 districts, keeping in view proposed revisions to the operational guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and RWBCIS, with implementation envisaged from Kharif 2026 onwards.
The department said the Centre had constituted a sub-committee on September 16, 2025, to standardise insurance term sheets for apple, banana, grape, mango and pomegranate under RWBCIS, as part of the proposed revision of the scheme’s operational guidelines.
The J&K government subsequently held a series of meetings with the Centre and members of the sub-committee to finalise the apple crop term sheets. Discussions held on June 13 and July 29, 2026, resulted in inputs being incorporated into the proposed term sheets.
According to the department, both apple term sheets have now been finalised. The sub-committee is in the process of finalising its work, following which the RWBCIS guidelines are to be revised and fresh tenders issued by the J&K government.
The reply, however, does not specify a timeline for awarding the fresh insurance contracts or for the commencement of insurance coverage for apple growers.
For Kashmir’s horticulture sector, where growers face recurring risks from hailstorms, frost, heavy snowfall, cloudbursts and other weather-related calamities, the delay means that a formalised weather-based insurance mechanism for horticultural crops remains unimplemented despite years of demands from growers.
