more-in National Insurance Company has emerged as the sole bidder for the proposed crop insurance scheme for small tea growers for which expression of interest (EoI) was invited by the Tea Board. The Tea Board had relaxed some terms in the crop insurance scheme following very poor response to the first round of bidding in November 2016. As against the earlier 10%, the cover would come into force when the loss is 15%. However, despite the relaxation, several insurers dropped out of the race, leaving the state-owned firm as the lone bidder. Enquiries show several private sector companies had participated in the initial rounds. After internal consultations and a nod from Tea Board chief Santosh Sarangi, it was decided to proceed with a single bidder as it was a PSU and open the financial bid (the premium that would have to be paid). Sharing costs A pilot would be run in three districts in Assam (Golaghat), West Bengal (Jalpaiguri) and Tamil Nadu (Conoor) for one crop cycle spread over two years commencing 2016-17 and covering 57,355 small growers. The cost is to be shared between the Centre, the State governments and the growers in the ratio of 75:15:10. The scheme for tea — Revenue Insurance Scheme for Plantation Sector for Tea — aims to protect growers from the risks of yield loss due to adverse weather and income loss due to falling prices. The insurer will have to develop SMS-based information system based on latest technology and notify the growers (policy-holders) about the due date for payment of premium, date of settlement of claims and the amount and weather indicators. Tea Board will be the nodal agency for implementing the scheme. The small tea growers, who are now an emerging force in the Indian tea industry accounting for more than 35% of the output, have seen crops damaged by hailstorms, excess rainfall and pest attacks brought about by climate change.

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