Vessel Insurance Schemes: Stakeholders Invited for Inputs

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on Wednesday urged all stakeholders to come forward with their suggestions and inputs for preparing guidelines on vessel insurance schemes.

Addressing a conference on aquaculture and vessel insurance here, the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said the Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) has been quite successful and similar success should be replicated for crop insurance and vessel insurance among the fishermen community.

He called upon "all stakeholders to come forward with their suggestions and inputs on preparing guidelines for vessel insurance schemes".

The minister also added that the issues arising out of climate change should be factored in while making new schemes, an official statement said.

The minister also distributed GAIS cheques to the identified beneficiaries.

Speaking on the occasion, Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi said the department will study the successful insurance models for fishermen in other countries like Japan and the Philippines, and their experiences will be adapted as per local conditions.

Likhi also underscored that the government is promoting vessel insurance schemes from companies, and a committee has been set up to work on common parameters for such schemes.

He added that the schemes under crop insurance are being reviewed to remove any trust deficit with the fisher community.

The Secretary mentioned that GAIS is the oldest and most successful scheme under 'Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana' (PMMSY).

Various stakeholders in the fisheries sector, including insurance companies, insurance intermediaries and financial institutions, participated in the conference.

Representatives from ICICI Lombard, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, Kerala-based Matsyafed and The New India Assurance Co Ltd were also present.