Fertiliser Subsidy

VB G RAM G gets Rs 95,692 crore in Fy-27; MGNREGA Rs 30,000 to clear pending dues and smoothen transition

Agriculture Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra said that in Haryana, an experiment was conducted to connect land, fertiliser usage and crops grown using Agristack, and it showed remarkable results

From India's role in a changing global order to fertiliser reform, export ambitions and the EV supply chain, today's Best of BS Opinion brings together key editorials and columns.

Linking urea sales to digital farmer IDs could curb leakages and fiscal waste-but only a phased, inclusive rollout can protect farmers and revive soil health

Move could be another attempt to rein in burgeoning fertiliser subsidy

The Fertiliser Association of India has suggested rationalisation of customs duties on key raw materials, incentives for downstream projects, and bringing urea under the nutrient-based subsidy framework in Union Budget 2026-27. The FAI has demanded exemption or reduction of basic customs duty on inputs such as ammonia, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, rock phosphate and sulphur. It has also sought relief from Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, and resolution of issues arising from inverted GST duty structures leading to accumulation of unutilised input tax credit. On the direct tax front, the industry has recommended restoration of weighted deductions for R&D and farmer education, incentives for downstream fertiliser projects, accelerated depreciation for energy-efficient equipment, and easing of compliance and litigation burdens. The FAI has emphasised the need to promote balanced fertilisation to protect soil health, noting that disparities between urea and P&K

FAI chief S Sankarasubramanian says buying fertiliser assets abroad could keep value capture outside India; FY27 subsidy requirement may be lower as global prices are softening

Expressing concern over fertiliser overuse, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that reducing fertiliser subsidies remains "politically unviable" while highlighting how Green Revolution architect Prof M S Swaminathan prioritised natural resource protection. Speaking at the launch of Priyambada Jayakumar's book on Swaminathan, Tharoor emphasised the late agricultural scientist's holistic vision. "His whole concept of economic growth was that it wouldn't simply trickle down but rise up from the soil. The Green Revolution wasn't just about higher-yielding wheat varieties but generating employment, enhancing livelihoods, and empowering the rural poor," he said. Drawing from his parliamentary experience, Tharoor noted the political challenges. "I briefly chaired the committee on chemicals and fertilisers. It was packed with people simply not prepared to contemplate any subsidy reduction... Politically, it won't be viable," he observed. However, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi

All you need to know about government subsidies and what to expect in the upcoming Union Budget 2025, scheduled to be tabled on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the government's first decision in the New Year is dedicated to farmers, as the Union Cabinet headed by him enhanced allocation to crop insurance scheme and raised subsidy to a key fertiliser. He said on X, "(Govt's) first decision of the New Near is dedicated to crores of farmer brothers and sisters of our country. We have approved increasing the allocation for crop insurance scheme. This will provide more security to farmers' crops and will also mitigate their concerns about any damage." The Cabinet's decision on extending the one-time special package on Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) will help farmers by ensuring the fertiliser at affordable prices, he added. The Cabinet approved continuation of the 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana' and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26 with an overall outlay of Rs 69,515.71 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26. The decision will help in risk coverage of crops from ...

As supplies of DAP have got squeezed, more and more growers are opting for complexes - mainly combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and sulphur (NPKS) in various grades

The government has provided nearly Rs 37,000 crore fertiliser subsidy so far this fiscal to ensure adequate supply of crop nutrients to farmers at affordable prices, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Anupriya Patel said, "The government provides subsidy to ensure adequate availability of fertilisers at affordable prices to the farmers. Under 'DBT in Fertilizers' system, 100 per cent subsidy on various fertiliser grades is released to the fertiliser companies, on actual sales to the beneficiaries based on Aadhar authentication through POS (point-of-sale) devices installed at each retail shop." She provided details of fertiliser subsidy provided by the government since the 2010-11 fiscal. According to the data, the total fertiliser subsidy stood at Rs 36,993.39 crore till July 22 of the 2024-25 fiscal. In the previous financial year, the subsidy has gone down to Rs 1,95,420.51 crore from Rs 2,54,798

The Budget is anticipated to be unveiled in the third week of July. The NDA 3.0 administration might strengthen specific welfare-oriented schemes, prioritising fiscal prudence

The government on Wednesday announced a Rs 24,420-crore subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the upcoming kharif season and said the farmers will continue to get key oil nutrient DAP at Rs 1,350 per quintal. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixing the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for the Kharif Season 2024-25 from April 1 to September 30 on P&K fertilisers. Briefing reporters, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said, "A nutrient-based subsidy of Rs 24,420 crore on P&K fertilisers has been approved for the kharif season starting April 1 till September 30." The minister said the subsidy on Nitrogen (N) has been fixed at Rs 47.02 per kg, phosphatic (P) at Rs 28.72 per g, potassic (K) at Rs 2.38 per kg and Sulphur (S) at Rs 1.89 per kg for 2024 kharif season, he said. The subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers has been increased to Rs 28.72 per kg for the 2024 kharif ...

The government has provided nearly Rs 1.71 lakh crore 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, .

The marketing margin is charged by gas marketing companies from consumers over and above the cost of gas for taking on the additional risk and cost associated with the marketing of gas

The government had rolled out PMUY in May 2022 to make clean cooking fuel, such as LPG, available to the rural and deprived households

India's budget deficit is projected to be 5.8% of gross domestic product in 2023-24. The government aims to curb the deficit to 5.1% in the next financial year

The Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for the Rabi season underwent a steep downward revision which, coupled with the rising raw material prices, further impacted the industry's performance

Food and fertiliser subsidies account for about one-ninth of India's total budget spending of Rs 45 trillion during the current fiscal year that ends on March 31