Govt raises subsidy for sulphur fertiliser for FY20

The government has decided to hike the subsidy on sulphur fertiliser to Rs 3.56 per kg and keep the support unchanged for other non-urea nutrients for promoting balanced use of farm supplements, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.

Total subsidy outgo for non-urea fertilisers would be Rs 22,875.5 crore for 2019-20 fiscal, the Information and Broadcasting Minister told reporters after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

"Urea is consumed more in the country. But NPKS is equally important for agriculture. The government gives subsidy for these nutrients as well. Today, the subsidy on sulphur has been increased from Rs 2.72/kg to Rs 3.56/kg for this year," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the CCEA meeting here.

The subsidy on nitrogen (N), phosphatic (P) and potassic (K) fertilisers unchanged, the minister said.

The subsidy for 'N' will continue to remain at Rs 18.90/kg, 'P' at Rs 15.21/kg and 'K' at Rs 11.12/kg during the current year.

The expected expenditure for release of subsidy on PNKS fertilizers during 2019-20 will be Rs 22,875.5 crore, Javadekar said.

In a statement, the Centre said the approved NPKS subsidy rates will be effective from the date of notification. Till then, the subsidy will remain same as that of the year 2018-19.

The minister said this will ensure availability of non-urea nutrients at affordable prices to farmers and promoting balanced use of fertilisers.

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.

Since 2010, the government has been fixing subsidy for non-urea fertilisers such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphatic (P) and Potassic (K) and Sulphur (S) on an annual basis based on the nutrient content present in fertilisers as per the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) scheme.