Neem coated urea to stop divergence for industrial use: Govt

Urea sold in the country will now be completely neem coated, a move which could save about Rs 10,000 crore by lowering the usage and stopping its divergence for industrial purposes.
"On May 25 this year, I took a decision for 100 per cent mandatory neem coating of urea as it will stop its divergence for industrial use and in record time of 166 days we have achieved this", Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar told PTI.
The minister informed that research institutes like ICAR has found that neem coated urea also acts as organic pesticide and with slow release of nitrogen there will be 10 per cent less requirement of the fertiliser while the yield could go up by 10 per cent.

According to industry estimates, there could be savings of about Rs 10,000 crore on account of lower use of urea after neem coating and fall in divergence for industrial use.
"December one onwards the entire urea being sold in the country, be it indigenous or imported, will be neem coated and for neem coating of imported urea, required arrangements have been made at all the major 14 ports across the country", Kumar added.
The Minister also ensured that there will no be shortage of urea for farmers in the upcoming years.

"We have received reports that with neem coating, divergence of urea has completely stopped", he said.

Urea, which is subsidised for farmers' use at Rs 5,360 per tonne, was diverted for industrial use especially in paints and ply wood industry, as it is cheaper compared to the urea for industrial use which is being sold at Rs 22,000-23,000
per tonne.
Farmers are the first priority of Narendra Modi-led government and there will be no shortage of urea for them in this season and in the coming years also, Kumar added.
Urea is a controlled fertiliser and is sold at a fixed selling price of Rs 5,360 per tonne. The difference between cost of production and selling price is paid as subsidy to manufacturers.

India's annual demand of urea is at 30 million tonnes, while the production is stagnant at 22 million tonnes. The rest is met through imports.