However, 16 schemes for urban water supply could not be approved due to lack of budgetary resources. The approval of these schemes would depend upon the availability of funds under the Central Plan for the programme.
 
 

• All farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers in all the States & Union Territories will be covered.
• Small and marginal farmers are eligible for 50% subsidy in premium and will be shared equally by the Government of India and State/UT Governments.
• The Scheme is implemented based on 'Area Approach' and all states/uts shall reach the level of Gram Panchayat in a maximum period of three years. The ultimate goal is to implement it on individual basis.
• Sum insured will extend to the value of the threshold yield of the crop with an option to cover upto 150% of average yield of the crop on payment of extra premium.
• Premium rates for food crops and oil seeds will range from 2.5% to 3.5% during Kharif and 1.5% to 2.0% during Rabi season. Actuarial rates will be charged for annual commecial/horticultural crops.
• For localised calamities, such as hailstorm, land slide, cyclone and floods, loss of assessment and claim settlement will be on `individual' basis.

    It may be noted that the existing Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme covers only limited crops, millets and pulses and was intended only for the loanee farmers. There have been demands from the State Governments from time to time that the scheme should be extended to cover all crops, especially the commercial crops like Sugarcane, cotton and potato, and the scheme should cover both loanee as well as non-loanee farmers. The Hon'ble Prime Minister in his address to the nation on the 15^th August, 1998 announced that the Crop Insurance Scheme will be broadened, new crops will be brought within its purview and its geographical reach will be increased.

    Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the scheme will be a landmark in the field of agriculture and goes a long way in alleviating the hardships of the farmers in the event of crop failures. He said, it will also encourage farmers to adopt progressive farming practices and higher technology in agriculture and will maintain a smooth flow of agricultural credit. The Prime Minister expressing his deep sense of distress over the tragic incidents of suicide and pauperisation of cotton growers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab, declared that his Government is determined to stop such happenings caused by the vagaries of nature. He announced that the new scheme will be implemented from the coming Rabi season of 1999-2000 and that it is part of our efforts to give a pro kisan, pro rural thrust to the country's economic development.

    The Finance Minister, Shri Yashwant Sinha, in his remarks said that there is a need to inculcate the insurance culture in rural areas. He asked the GIC and other insurance companies to go all out in their efforts to popularise these schemes in the remotest villages in the country. Shri Sinha said, the National scheme will be implemented by the GIC to begin with and efforts will be made to create a separate organisation under the GIC to implement the scheme in due course.

    The Minister of State for Agriculture & Water Resources, Shri Sompal described the scheme as a revolutionary instrument to boost confidence among the farming community. He said the agriculture production in the country has reached record levels and there is a need to consolidate the gains in rural areas through the schemes like Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana and Kisan credit cards.
 
 

    According to the information received about the incident, Shri Tarun Vijay travelling by Gondwana Express on December 9,1998, left behind his suitcase while alighting at Nagpur Station. The suitcase contained Rs.2000/- cash, valuables, important documents, Credit Card and personal papers including Home Ministry’s Identity Card. When Shri Vijay went to report about the lost luggage to GRP at Nagpur Station, he was pleasantly surprised to find two Railway Staff waiting there with his suitcase. The two Railway employees Shri Muthu and Shri Bir Pal who were air-conditioning maintenance workers in the coach in which Shri Vijay was travelling, had found abandoned suitcase and had gone to deposit the same at the GRP. Shri Tarun Vijay was over-whelmed at this gesture of dedication and subsequently brought it to the notice of Shri Ram Naik, who initiated the move to reward these two employees.

    Speaking on the occasion, Railway Minister said that the employees in the Indian Railways have a great tradition of serving the Organisation with lot of dedication and sincerity. He called upon the Railwaymen to strive harder for providing the best services to the people. In his Address, Shri Ram Naik said that the employees are the strength of any organisation and their dedication toward duty bring glory to the entire organisation.
 
 

    Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana will cover all the crops for which yield data is available and will be available to all the farmers irrespective of their size of holding. The scheme will be compulsory for loanee farmers. Non-loanee farmers can also avail of the scheme, but their participation would be optional. There is no restriction on the total sum insured. All the crops will be covered, including coarse crops of all pulses and oilseeds. In addition, three cash crops - sugarcane, potato, and cotton - have also been brought under the purview of the scheme in the first year. All the remaining crops, including horticultural and commercial crops will be placed under insurance cover within the next three years.

    The premium rates will be 3.5 per cent for bajra and oilseeds and 2.5 per cent for other kharif crops; 1.5 per cent for wheat, and 2 per cent for other Rabi crops. In case the rates worked out on the basis of actuarial data are less than the prescribed premium rate, the lower rate will be applicable. In the case of commercial and horticultural crops, actuarial rates will be charged from the inception of the scheme. In order to ensure sustainability of the scheme, it is proposed that transition to the actuarial regime will be achieved in 5 years. Small and marginal farmers will be entitled to subsidy of 50% of the premium charged from them. The premium subsidy will be phased out over a period of 5 years.

    The scheme will be operated on the basis of area approach. All farmers of a defined area which is affected by a calamity, will be entitled to payment of insurance claim according to the indemnity rates prescribed for the area. In the event of localised calamities, however, individual claims of affected farmers will be entertained separately. Localised calamities will include hailstorm, landslide, cyclone, flood, etc. The number of crop cutting experiments will be increased to suitable numbers, in order to arrive at realistic assessment of ‘threshold yield level’ in particular areas.

    The scheme will be implemented for the time being by the General Insurance Corporation of India. It is proposed that an exclusive organisation, namely, Bharatiya Krishi Bima Nigam, will eventually be established to administer the Scheme. The settlement of claims will be the responsibility of the insurance agency. To ensure the sustainability of the scheme, efforts will be made to obtain reinsurance cover, nationally or internationally.

    A scheme for providing insurance cover to farmers, known as Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS) has been in vogue in the country since 1985. The CCIS has been popular in some areas where it was available. However, experience gained from operating the scheme has revealed several deficiencies and limitations. Firstly, it provided coverage only to a limited number of crops – wheat, paddy, oilseeds, millets, and pulses – with the exclusion of important cash crops, like sugarcane, potato, cotton, etc. Secondly, the coverage was restricted only to rainfed crops. It was for this reason that the scheme was not effective for the progressive farmers of States like, Punjab, Haryana, and Western U.P. Thirdly, the scheme covered only the loanee farmers, and the non-loanee farmers were excluded. Fourthly, the sum insured was limited to a maximum amount of Rs. 10,000, taken as credit from institutional sources. Hence, only the marginal and small farmers stood to benefit from the scheme. Fifthly, compensation too, did not bear direct relationship to the actual losses. Lastly, the scheme was implemented barely in 18% of the total cropped area of the country. Thus, the scheme was virtually serving as an insurance of the institutional loan (upto Rs. 10,000) taken by small and marginal farmers in a limited area.

    The Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana is not only a significant improvement over the previous insurance scheme, but an entirely new and innovative approach to extend protection from risk to farmers from all sections. For the first time, a real and effective insurance scheme, based on actuarial premium has been launched to provide adequate coverage to the farmers. The scheme is expected to turn out to be a comprehensive and effective system of risk management, for which there has been a long standing demand, and that it will go a long way in providing stability to the Indian farming system.
 
 

    The India Meteorological Department has had a number of Working Group meetings, with the Commission’s officers, and done a 30-years study, to give the Commission reliable indications, of the likely weather situation, in different parts of the country at that time. The Commissioners evinced keen interest and had a detailed discussions with Prof. Ramamurthy and his colleagues. At the end of the meeting, the Chief Election Commissioner of India complimented Prof. Ramamurthy and his officers for the excellent work done, and the detailed data and forecasting inputs, made available to the Commission, for the first time, in India’s election history.
 
 

    The Commission admitted the petition and directed Power Grid to serve copies of the petition to all its clients with suitable directions to file replies and counter replies.

    CMD, Power Grid, submitted that in the interim, in order to pay its obligations of O&M expenses, servicing of debts etc., that Power Grid may be allowed to continue the billing on the basis hitherto. This prayer was granted till the next date of hearing. The Commission also directed that all the beneficiaries shall honour bills raised in this manner without demur.

    The Commission has also stated in its order that the relief is without prejudice to the final findings of the Commission with regard to

• the quantum of the tariff charges being billed;
• the legality or otherwise of the authority for these charges; and,
• the jurisdiction of the Commission on any of the issues contained in the petition.

    Indicating that several of the Major Ports have either reached or are reaching saturation of their development potential, Shri Nitish Kumar said that there is need for creation of new ports, besides augmenting and improving existing facilities. In this context the integrated development of major and minor ports assumes crucial importance, he said.

    The Minister informed the meeting that eleven projects aggregating to 46 million tonnes of port capacity worth Rs. 3400 crore have been approved in the Major Ports in the favour of private parties and captive users. He also said that the initiatives for development of Minor Ports through private sector and the response thereto has been satisfactory. Shri Nitish Kumar told the meeting that a model document for private sector participation in Major Ports has been evolved and the same will be sent to the Maritime States for their guidance.

    Emphasising on the Road-Rail linkages to the ports for quick evacuation of cargo, he said that the Railways have taken initiatives to strengthen rail connectivity to several ports. He told the gathering that Navalakhi Port which so far was connected with a meter gauge link will be on the broad gauge map by the end of this year. "At Okha, planning is being done to extend the line right upto the port. Pipavav Port is also being connected with Rajula city, with a meter gauge link to begin with. Simultaneously, gauge conversion of the entire Surendra Nagar – Pipavav Port has been sanctioned and work started. Cuttack-Paradip plan is being doubled and so are the bridges on the rivers Mahanadi and Birupa. This will strengthen the rail connectivity to Paradip Port." The Minister said that the commissioning of Konkan Railway and gauge conversion of Londa-Vasco section has greatly benefited Mormugao Port.