Govt provides nearly Rs 1.71 trn as fertiliser subsidy till Jan in 2023-24

The government has provided nearly Rs 1.71 trillion as fertilisers subsidy till January in this fiscal year, Parliament was informed on Friday.

In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba said the government provides subsidy on various fertilizers to ensure adequate availability of fertilizers at affordable prices to farmers.

"The subsidy provided for fertilisers in the country for the year 2023-24 (as of January 31, 2024) is Rs 1,70,923 crore," he added.

The Government has implemented Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) policy with effect from April 1, 2010, for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers. Under the policy, a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on annual/semi-annual basis, is provided on notified P&K fertilizers depending on their nutrient content.

"Under this policy,P (maximum retail price) is fixed by fertilizer companies as per market dynamics at reasonable level which is monitored by the government. Accordingly, any farmer of India including poor and marginal farmers who buy these fertilizers gets benefits of subsidy," Khuba said.

On urea, the minister said urea is provided to the farmers at a statutorily notifiedP.

The price of a 45 kg bag of urea is Rs 242 per bag (exclusive of charges towards neem coating and taxes as applicable), he added.

In a separate reply, Khuba informed that the expenditure incurred on subsidy on fertilizers for the last five years stood at Rs 73435.21 crore in 2018-19, Rs 83,466.51 crore in 2019-20, Rs 131229.50 crore in 2020-21, Rs 157640.63 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 2,54,798.88 crore during 2022-23 fiscal year.