HYDERABAD: Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao on Thursday said the government has paid the entire annual premium to the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) under the Rythu Bima scheme.
He said Rs 3,301.9 crore has been disbursed to the families of 66,038 deceased farmers under the scheme over the last two-and-a-half years.
In a statement, the minister said: “From December 2023 to the end of that year, financial assistance amounting to Rs 1,004.5 crore was extended to 20,090 farmer families under this scheme. In 2024, another Rs 1,293.05 crore was disbursed to 25,861 families. For the 2025–26 financial year, 42.16 lakh farmers have been enrolled under the scheme. The government has paid the full annual premium of Rs 1,359.56 crore to LIC to ensure coverage for all beneficiaries. As a result, financial assistance worth Rs 1,004.35 crore has been provided to 20,087 families of deceased farmers during the current period.”
The minister said claims by BRS leaders that the Rythu Bima scheme had been discontinued were false. He said the Congress government had not discontinued any farmer welfare scheme since assuming office and had instead continued existing programmes while reviving several schemes halted during the previous administration.
He urged political parties to refrain from spreading misinformation about the government’s farmer welfare initiatives and reiterated that the Rythu Bima scheme was being implemented to provide financial support to bereaved families and help them regain economic stability.