Govt raises subsidy for non-urea fertilisers, to cost Rs 22,875 cr in FY20

The government on Wednesday hiked the subsidy on non-urea fertilisers to make available farm nutrients at affordable prices to farmers, a move that would cost the exchequer Rs 22,875.50 crore in this fiscal.

A decision in this regard was taken at the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The CCEA approves NBS rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers for the year 2019-20; expected expenditure during 2019-20 to be Rs 22,875.50 crore," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told media after the meeting.

The subsidy for Nitrogen has been fixed at Rs 18.90 per kg, Phosphorous at Rs 15.11 per kg, Potash at Rs 11.12 per kg and Sulphur at Rs 3.56 per kg for the current fiscal, he said.

This will help in promoting balanced use of fertilisers, the minister added.

In 2010, the government had launched the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) programme under which a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on an annual basis, is provided on each grade of subsidised phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers, except for urea, based on the nutrient content present in them.

Retail prices of non-urea fertilisers such as Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP) and NPK are decontrolled and are determined by manufacturers, while Centre gives a fixed subsidy each year.