During the year, the Department of Fertilizer is implementing schemes such as Urea Subsidy Scheme, Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS) and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) projects for fertilizer subsidy payments which are implemented on a PAN India basis for ensuring adequate availability of fertilizers to the farmers.

In addition, the Ministry implemented the One Nation One Fertilizers scheme under the Fertilizer Subsidy Scheme, which aims to ensure timely supply of fertilizers, as well as eliminate the dilemma of farmers in choosing one of the many brands available in the market. It has been decided to convert the existing village, block/sub district/taluk and district level fertilizer retail outlets into model fertilizer retail outlets during this year. These shops will act as “one stop shop” for all agriculture related inputs and services. At the district level, 600 retail shops were converted into PMKSK. 

Urea Subsidy Scheme:

As far as Urea is concerned, Urea is sold at statutorily notified uniform MRP. At present the Urea is being provided to the farmers at a statutorily notified Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Rs.242 per 45 kg bag of urea (exclusive of charges towards neem coating and taxes as applicable). The difference between the delivered cost of urea at farm gate and net market realization by the urea units is given as subsidy to the urea manufacturer/importer by the Government of India. Accordingly, all farmers are being supplied urea at the subsidized rates.

 Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme:

Subsidy rates of P&K fertilizers are under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme which were increased on 20^th May 2021 & 13^th October, 2021 (giving special compensation on DAP and 3 most commonly used NPK fertilizers) for the year 2021-22 and then further increased substantially for Kharif-2022 (applicable from 01^st April 2022 to 30^th September, 2022), so that these fertilizers are made available at affordable prices to the farmers. The increase in the per kg subsidy rates for nutrients viz. N, P, K and S under NBS scheme is as under:

Potash Derived from Molasses (PDM) having potassic content of 14.5% K₂O has been notified under NBS. Freight Subsidy has been made admissible on

SSP on pilot basis for RABI – 2022.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for per Kilogram rates of Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for various Nutrients that is Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potash

(K) and Sulphar (S) for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers for Rabi Season

– 2022-23 (from 01.10.2022 to 31.03.2023) as below:

The details of the Subsidy Outgo during 2022-23 from 1.4.2022 to 16.12.2022 are as under:

The Subsidy approved by Cabinet for the NBS Rabi-2022 (from 01^st October 2022 to 31^st March 2023) will be Rs. 51,875 crore including support for indigenous fertilizer (SSP) through freight subsidy. This will enable smooth availability of all P&K fertilizers to the farmers during Rabi 2022-23 at the subsidized / affordable prices of fertilizers and support the agriculture sector. The volatility in the international prices of fertilizers and raw materials has been primarily absorbed by the Union Government.

 Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) project for fertilizer subsidy payment:

Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has implemented Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) project for fertilizer subsidy payment with a view to improve fertilizer service delivery to farmers. Under the fertilizer DBT system, 100% subsidy on various fertilizer grades is released to the fertilizer companies on the basis of actual sales made by the retailers to the beneficiaries. Sale of all subsidized fertilizers to farmers/buyers is made through Point of Sale (PoS) devices installed at each retailer shop and the beneficiaries are identified through Aadhaar Card, KCC, Voter Identity Card etc.

Objective of the Scheme/programme:

1. 1. 100%    payment    of    subsidy   to    the    fertilizer    manufacturing/    importing companies on the basis of actual sale by the retailers to the beneficiary.
   2. Buyer identification through POS devices based on Aadhaar Authentication, Voter ID or KCC.
   3. Processing of subsidy payments on a weekly basis.

Achievement in terms of physical progress:

1. E-receipts to Farmers: The farmer/buyer has received receipt of each purchase of fertilizers through SMS on his mobile. Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has introduced SMS system in POS 3.1 version on 30th September 2020.
2. SMS for Stock Availability: SMS Gateway periodically sends SMS to the farmer about the availability of fertilizer at the retail outlet from where he had last purchased the fertilizer. The farmer /buyers can check the availability of fertilizers at any retail outlet by sending the Retailer ID through SMS on mobile no. 7738299899.
3. SMS for cancellation of Sale: If the farmer cancels the sale of fertilizers, the farmer will automatically receive an SMS of cancellation of invoice on his registered mobile.
4. OTP Based Aadhaar Authentication: Additional contactless OTP-based Aadhaar authentication is a new option introduced in the DBT project on 30 September, 2020. Farmers may use the option of OTP-based authentication so that farmers do not need to put their thumbs up for bio-metric authentication during the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
5. Android based Mobile Application to Retailers: The Department of Fertilizers has developed an Android based mobile application on 30th September, 2020 as an optional or additional feature of POS devices, with the help of which retailers may sell fertilizers to farmers using their mobiles.

Physical Progress:

A Project Monitoring Cell has been set up at Department. of Fertilizers to oversee implementation of DBT exclusively. 24 State Coordinators have been appointed across all States to monitor the on-going DBT activities. Implementation of the DBT in Fertilizer Scheme required deployment of PoS devices at every retailer shop and training of retailers for operating PoS device. Across the country, Lead Fertilizer Supplier (LFS) have conducted 16067 training sessions till date.

2.63 Lakh PoS devices have been deployed across all States.

  Fertilizer Projects Division:

 Revival of the Chemical Fertilizer Plants: 

Government of India has mandated revival of Talcher, Ramagundam, Gorakhpur and Sindri plants of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) and Barauni plant of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (HFCL) by forming Joint Venture Company of nominated PSUs as per details given below: –

It may be noted   that   the   Gorakhpur   Plant   was   commissioned   on 7th December, 2021. The Barauni &S indri fertilizers plants has started Urea production on 18.10.2022 and 05.11.2022 respectively. In addition, Talcher unit of

FCIL is also being revived by setting up a new greenfield urea plant of 12.7 LMTPA under an exclusive policy notified on 28th April 2021.

After operationalization of all these Urea plant, they will add to 63.5 LMT per annum of urea leading to reduction in equivalent amount of import of urea. Besides the above revival plants, two urea manufacturing units viz. Matix fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd and Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd have been set up with a capacity of 12.7 LMT per annum at Panagarh, West Bengal and Gadepan, Rajasthan respectively.

  Fertilizer Movement Division:

Availability of Fertilizers: The availability of Fertilizers such as Urea, DAP, NPK etc has been comfortable in India during 2022-23 (upto 20.12.2022). Department of Fertilizers has ensured comfortable availability and smooth supply of all the fertilizers across the country. The details of production, import and consumption of Fertilizers during 2022-23 (1.4.2022 to 20.12.2022) are as under:-

(Figures in LMT)

(Figures in ‘LMT’)

(Figures in ‘LMT’)

Steps taken by the Government to ensure adequate availability of fertilizers in the country: –

Before the commencement of each cropping season, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), in consultation with all the State Governments, assesses the requirement of fertilizers. After assessment of requirement, DA&FW projects month wise & state-wise requirement of all fertilizers.

On the basis of month-wise & State-wise projection given by DA&FW, Department of Fertilizers allocates sufficient/ adequate quantities of fertilizers to States by issuing monthly supply plan and continuously monitoring the availability.

    The movement of all major subsidized fertilizers are monitored

throughout the country by an on-line web based monitoring system called integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS);

The State Governments are regularly advised to coordinate with manufacturers and importers of fertilizers for streamlining the supplies through timely placement of indents for railway rakes.

Regular Weekly Video Conference is conducted jointly by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Ministry of Railways and Department of Fertilizers (DoF) with State Agriculture Officials and corrective actions are taken to dispatch the fertilizers as indicated by the State Governments.

The gap between demand (requirement) and production is met through timely imports. In case of P&K fertilizers, the imports come under Open & General license and fertilizer companies import these fertilizers based on their commercial judgments.

Special efforts for Ease of Movement of Fertilizers:

DoF conducts Weekly Video Conference with the states to know the availability scenario of fertilizers within the states.

In case of any exigency, the fertilizer companies and Indian Railways are issued necessary instructions to expedite the supply of Fertilizers to the state.

State Governments are impressed upon to use i-FMS dashboard stock figures for district wise stock availability and suitable interventions.

Loading and voyage time of imported fertilizer shipments are being monitored on daily basis and required suitable interventions have been/are being made from time to time.

Every day there is a close monitoring 24×7 and regular interaction with states, fertilizer companies and railway board.

As 90% of the fertilizers are moved through railway rakes, so the loading and movement of these rakes is being executed in a very targeted manner (in consultation with respective state governments), so as to address the field demand suitably.

Innovation Division:

Nano Urea

Government of India has recently notified the specifications of Nano nitrogen under Fertilizer Control Order, 1985.

Nano Fertilizers hold great promise for application in plant nourishment because of the size-dependent qualities, high surface-volume ratio and unique optical properties.

Nano fertilizer releases plant nutrients in a controlled manner contributing to higher nutrient use efficiency.

During farmer field trials on 94 crops conducted by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)- Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), an 8% increase in crop yield

with foliar application of Nano urea was observed.

Commercial production of Nano Urea commenced on 1stAugust, 2021 from IFFCO, Kalol plant. As on date, approx. 5 Crore Nano Urea bottles have been produced.

Department of Fertilizers has issued guidelines for development of entrepreneurs for drone spraying of liquid fertilizers.

National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF), under administrative control of Department of Fertilizers, has signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) & Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) to transfer the technology of Nano Urea from IFFCO.

By 2025, through 8 urea plant it is proposed to produce 44 crores Nano Urea Bottles per annum which will be equivalent to 200 LMT of conventional urea. Since 1st August, 2021 upto 3rd December, 2022, 5.12 Crore bottles of Nano Urea have been dispatched, out of which 4.07 crore bottles have been sold to the farmers (including 0.37 crore exports).

One Nation One Fertilizer:

Government of India has decided to implement One Nation One Fertilizers by introducing Single Brand for Fertilizers and Logo under Fertilizer subsidy scheme namely “Pradhanmantri Bhartiya Janurvarak Pariyojna” (PMBJP).

It would help in increasing the availability basket of fertilizers; takes care of dilemma among farmers in choosing from plethora of brands available in the markets, reduce the crisscross movement and further ensure timely supply of fertilizers.

The savings in respect of Freight Subsidy is likely to be 5 %.

. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendra (PMKSK):

It has been decided to convert the existing village, block/sub district/ taluk and district level fertilizer retail shops into Model Fertilizer Retail Shops.

These shops will act as “One Stop Shop” for all the agriculture related inputs and services.

600 retail shops have been converted into PMKSKs at district level, which were inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 17th October, 2022. PMKSK centres have become excellent examples of Swachhata Campaign 2 initiatives with clean premises and enhanced facilities for farmers. The launch of the 600 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PMKSK) across the country has been adopted as one of the best practices as part of the Special Campaign 2.0 initiatives of the Department of Fertilizers.

As per the data extracted by Companies in IFMS Dashboard, a total of 8343