New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- The Central government will release Rs 3,200 crore installment of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana on Monday. This is the first installment given to farmers, with Rs 8,000 crore to be released later, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday.

Announcing the package in a post on X, the union minister said that insurance companies that do not deposit the amount to disaster-affected farmers on time will face a 12 per cent interest penalty, which will be directly given to farmers.

"Today, approximately 30 lakh farmers affected by natural disasters will have Rs.3200 crore deposited into their accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. This is the first installment, so ...