From now on, damage to crops due to extreme cold or frost will be considered a natural calamity and the affected farmers will be eligible for financial relief from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) or the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

The Union Cabinet at a meeting here on Thursday approved the recommendation of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Drought to this effect.So far, crops damaged in natural calamities such as drought, floods, cyclone, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslip, avalanche, cloudburst and pest attack were eligible for relief under the SDRF and NDRF.