Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh today said a New Crop Insurance Scheme will be launched by next year. Replying to a Short Duration Discussion in the Rajya Sabha, he said the centre and states should work unitedly to plug in loopholes in the present agriculture policies. Stating that the number of suicides committed by farmers is being exaggerated, the Minister said 11 thousand 772 persons from farming community committed suicide during last year, out of which only 512 related to agrarian crisis.

Blaming the states for under utilizing funds under various programmes, Mr Singh said an amount of Rs 800 crore remained unspent under 11 schemes. He also said the states are not reporting drought conditions on time. Stating that several schemes are overlapping, the minister said the present schemes will be restructured after obtaining views from political parties very soon. Elaborating the measures being taken for strengthening agriculture sector, the minister said eight lakh crore rupees crop loans will be disbursed during the current year and Soil Health Cards will be launched soon to ensure regular monitoring of cultivable lands. The ministry will enter an MoU with the postal department to create awareness among farmers and 28 more Krishi Vijnan Centers will be opened to ensure at least one such center in each district.

Initiating the discussion earlier, Anand Sharma of the Congress demanded interest waiver on crop loans. Several opposition members alleged that the Government is not taking measures to resolve agrarian crisis.