India could impose penalties for delay in settling crop insurance claims

Mumbai: The government is looking at imposing penalties for delaying farmers' settlement claims under the new crop insurance plan, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal said on Tuesday.

The government in January launched a crop damage insurance plan to give a shield to millions of farmers who suffer when their crops fail.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is banking on the insurance plan to woo rural India, a key to his ambition to win a number of state elections in the next two years.