PM-MKSSY Bears 40% of Aquaculture Insurance Premium Cost

The correct answer is 40%. Component 1-B of PM-MKSSY meets the cost barrier by paying an eligible aquaculture farmer a one-time incentive of up to 40% of the insurance premium for one crop cycle, transferred directly to the bank account through the National Fisheries Digital Platform. For pond based aquaculture the payment is limited to Rs 25,000 per hectare of water spread area with a ceiling of Rs 1,00,000 for up to four hectares, and for advanced systems such as cage culture, recirculatory aquaculture systems, biofloc and raceways the same share applies with a unit size limit of 1,800 cubic metres. The options of 25%, 50% and 75% are wrong because no such share is provided under the scheme; the only additional relief is an extra 10% of the payable incentive for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and women beneficiaries. Remember the 40% figure along with the two ceilings, since questions often mix the share with the money limits.

The correct answer is 30 days. The claim process begins when the insured farmer informs the insurance company of the peril and submits the documents the policy requires; the insurer then appoints a loss assessor, the damage is evaluated and payment is made on that report, with status updates shown on the insurer portal. The settlement has to be completed within 30 days where the crop is shrimp and within 45 days for other aquaculture activities. So 45 days is wrong for shrimp, being the window meant for the remaining activities, and aspirants often swap the two. The choice of 15 days is wrong because no such short window is laid down, and 60 days is wrong because it is longer than either limit in the scheme. Four insurers are operational at present, namely OICL, AICL, NIAL and UIIC, and private insurers are being brought on board to widen the market.

The correct answer is second. India is the second largest fish producing nation in the world with a share of about 8%, and its annual production touched a record 19.8 million tonnes in 2024-25. Aquaculture, which covers pond culture of freshwater carps, brackish water shrimp and prawn farming, cage culture and a widening range of cold water and marine species, now accounts for about 74% of that output. First is wrong, since China leads world fish production by a wide margin. Third and fourth are wrong because India moved well past that position as output rose from 9.6 million tonnes in 2013-14 to 19.8 million tonnes in 2024-25, a rise of more than 106%. Inland production alone reached 14.74 million tonnes in 2024-25. It is worth remembering with this that marine product exports stood at USD 8.46 billion in 2025-26 and that frozen shrimp brings nearly two-thirds of seafood export earnings.

The correct answer is 8 February 2024. The government approved PM-MKSSY on that date as a sub-scheme meant to formalise the fisheries sector and to manage the risks its farmers carry, and the aquaculture insurance push described on 28 September 2026 is its Component 1-B. Delivery runs through the National Fisheries Digital Platform so that the incentive reaches the farmer by direct benefit transfer. The date of 10 September 2020 is wrong; it belongs to the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, the larger fisheries scheme under which average aquaculture productivity is being pushed towards the target of five tonnes per hectare from 4.77 tonnes now. The choice of 1 April 2021 is wrong, as no approval of this scheme took place then, and 15 August 2023 is wrong as well. Keep the two fisheries schemes apart, since examiners like to swap their launch dates.