New Fertiliser Policy Soon, Says Arunachalam

The Centre will soon come out with a new fertiliser policy, minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers M Arunachalam said.

Arunachalam, who took charge of the ministry yesterday said The new policy would be based on the Hanumantha Rao committee report on fertiliser pricing, which was expected in a couple of months time.

He said the new policy would take care of the interests of both farmers and fertiliser producers adding the availability position of fertilisers was comfortable and there would be no shortages in the current fiscal year.

The minister said the ministry was also planning to set up a National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on the lines of the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices (BICP).

 

Arunachalam said pharmaceutical pricing, which was so far done by BICP, would be done by NPPA. The proposal to set up the pricing body would go to the cabinet for approval, he added.

On the pending cases in the Bhopal gas tragedy, Arunachalam said his ministry would soon approach the Union law ministry to speed up the cases. He blamed the Madhya Pradesh government for lack of co-operation and co-ordination in disposing off the compensation cases fast. On the revival of Vadodara-based Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IDPL), Arunachalam said the cabinet secretariat has sent the rehabilitation proposal to the department of chemicals for approval. IDPL, a sick company under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), had been referred to the group of ministers for suggesting a revival strategy.

Arunachalam, who was shifted to chemicals and fertilisers ministry from labour ministry, could not take charge earlier as he was in Geneva heading the Indian delegation at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting.

Asked whether he was happy with the change in ministry, Arunachalam said we are politicians. Whatever assignments we get, we do it.

However, he added that he expected the change from the labour ministry.