Liberalise, do not bureaucratise

The proposed fertiliser statute might be problematic

The draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022, put forth by the government for public comments, has caused a good deal of disquiet among various stakeholders in the fertiliser sector. It is being viewed largely as a bid to further tighten the government’s hold over a sector which is already over-regulated. The plea mooted for bringing this legislation — to ensure balanced use of plant nutrients — does not carry much conviction. For, the use of plant nutrients by farmers is influenced mostly by their prices, which are determined by the subsidies the government offers on different fertilisers. The present