Agriculture Minister renews push for DBT of fertiliser subsidy to farmers

Shivraj Singh Chouhan says it would give them the freedom to choose which fertilisers to buy and in what quantities

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday once again pitched for transferring the central government's ₹1.7 trillion annual fertiliser subsidy to farmers' bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), saying it would give them the freedom to choose which fertilisers to buy and in what quantities.

 

Addressing the Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) campus here, Chouhan said a bag of urea that actually costs ₹2,400 reaches farmers at just ₹265–270 because of the subsidy the central government absorbs.

 

“If such a large subsidy is transferred directly to farmers' accounts through DBT, farmers will be able to decide which fertilisers to purchase and in what quantities. This system will ensure that the actual beneficiary of the subsidy is the farmer who applies the fertiliser to the fields,” he said.

   

On Tuesday, Chouhan floated the idea for a nationwide debate on DBT in fertilisers and argued in favour of its benefits during the Business Standard annual Manthan event. The Manthan event concluded today.

 

Currently, fertiliser subsidies in India are primarily transferred to companies rather than directly to farmers. Though the government implemented a DBT system in 2018, the subsidy is released to fertiliser manufacturers only after verified retail sales to farmers.

 

Over 2.3 lakh retailers across the country use point-of-sale (PoS) machines linked to the Department of Fertilizers’ e-Urvarak portal, where farmers authenticate their purchases using Aadhaar, Kisan Credit Card, or other identity documents, allowing sales to be tracked in real time.

 

Subsidy claims are then processed within seven to ten working days, covering nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and sulphur.