Lok Sabha Question No. 5811 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-03
Subject: Consumption of Urea
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: RAJESH PANDEY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5811 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.04.2018

## Consumption of Urea

## 5811  SHRI  RAJESH  PANDEY:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:-

- (a) the production and consumption of urea in the country at present ;
- (b) the  gap  between  demand  and  supply  of  urea  along  with  the  targets    of production fixed for the next three years;
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to eliminate the shortage and irregularities in supply of urea ; and
- (d) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure regular supply of fertilizers in backward and remote  areas of the country ?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  OF PLANNING  AND  MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  CHEMICALS  & FERTILIZERS

## ( RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) : The  production  and  consumption  of  Urea  in  the  country    for  the  year 2016-17 and 2017-18 ( upto February, 18)  are given below:-

## (Figure in 'LMT')

| Year                    |   Production |   Consumption/Sale |
|-------------------------|--------------|--------------------|
| 2016-17                 |       242.01 |             296.07 |
| 2017-18 (up to Feb,2018 |       218.53 |             283.18 |

- (b):    The  demand  of  fertilizers  is  assessed  and  projected  season-wise  by  the Department of Agriculture, Co-operation & Farmers' Welfare (DAC&FW) in consultation  with  the  State  Governments  for  which  bi-annual  conferences  are  held before  commencement  of  each  cropping  season.  The  gap  between  demand  and production is met  through  imports.  The  requirement  for Kharif 2018  (April to September,  2018),  as  assessed  by  DAC&FW,  is  148.90  LMT  (without  reserve allocation)  &  158.00  LMT  (with  reserve  allocation).    The  requirement  (demand)  is fulfilled  through  indigenous  production  and  imports.  The  season-wise  demand  is assessed before the start of the season each year.

(c)  &  (d):    To  ensure  adequate  availability  as  per  demand  and  to  eliminate  the shortage and irregularities in supply of Urea including in backward, remote and hilly areas, the Department of Fertilizers takes following steps:-

(1) The  month-wise  demand  is  assessed  and  projected  by  the  Department  of Agriculture & Co-operation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) in consultation with the State Governments before commencement of each cropping season.

(2) On  the  basis  of  month-wise  &  state-wise  projection  given  by  DAC&FW, Department of Fertilizers allocates sufficient/ adequate quantities of fertilizers to States by  issuing  monthly  supply  plan  and  continuously  monitors  the  availability  through following system: -

- (i) The  movement  of  all  major  subsidized  fertilizers  is  monitored  throughout  the country by an on-line web based monitoring system (www.urvarak.co.in) also called as integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS).
- (ii) 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  through  their  state institutional agencies like Markfed etc.
- (iii) Regular  Weekly  Video  Conference  is  conducted  jointly  by  Department  of Agriculture  &  Cooperation  and  Farmers  Welfare  (DAC&FW),  Department  of Fertilizers  (DoF),  and  Ministry  of  Railways  with  State  Agriculture  Officials  and corrective  actions  are  taken  to  dispatch  fertilizer  as  indicated  by  the  State Governments.
- (iv) The gap between demand (requirement) and production is met through import.

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