The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with a total investment of ₹20,750 crore from financial year 2020-21 to date for fisheries development across all States and Union Territories. The scheme provides social security through group accidental insurance coverage for both marine and inland fishers and allied fish workers, with premium sharing between Centre and States at 60:40 ratio, 90:10 for Himalayan & North Eastern States, and full central funding for Union Territories.
Insurance coverage under PMMSY includes ₹5,00,000 for death or permanent total disability, ₹2,50,000 for permanent partial disability, and hospitalization expenses of ₹25,000 in case of accident. This represents a significant enhancement from the erstwhile Blue Revolution scheme, which had lower limits of ₹2 lakh for death, ₹1 lakh for partial disability, and ₹10,000 hospitalization support.
During the last five years (2021-22 to 2025-26) and current financial year (2026-27), an average of 35.74 lakh active fishers have been enrolled under the Group Accident Insurance Scheme annually. The coverage percentage of the total estimated fishermen population stands at 13.23% nationally, with significant variation across states ranging from 0.26% in West Bengal to 100% coverage in Jharkhand, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Claims data from 2021-22 to 2025-26 shows Tamil Nadu and Telangana consistently reporting the highest number of claims and compensation amounts. In 2021-22, 416 total claims were filed with ₹16.92 crore disbursed; 2022-23 saw 622 claims with ₹20.65 crore disbursed; 2023-24 had 542 claims with ₹17.40 crore disbursed; 2024-25 recorded 694 claims with ₹21.39 crore disbursed; and 2025-26 (partial year) showed 582 claims with ₹15.09 crore disbursed, totaling approximately ₹90.44 crore in compensation over the five-year period.
State-wise enrollment data shows Odisha has the highest average enrollment at 10,12,464 fishers (66.72% coverage), followed by Tamil Nadu with 5,66,006 fishers (44.09% coverage), and Telangana with 3,08,972 fishers (35.83% coverage). Several states including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Sikkim, and Tripura achieved 100% coverage of their estimated fisherman population under the scheme.