Lok Sabha Question No. 5638 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Atmanirbhar Initiative
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Shri Dhaval Laxmanbhai Patel

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5638 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2025

## Atmanirbhar Initiative

## 5638:  SHRI DHAVAL LAXMANBHAI PATEL:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a)      the steps taken by the Government to promote domestic manufacturing of chemicals and fertilizers under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative;
- (b) the  progress  made  in  reducing  the  country's  dependence  on  imported raw materials for fertilizer production and the steps taken to ensure stable pricing and availability for farmers;
- (c) the number of new manufacturing units established under this initiative and the employment generated; and
- (d) the measures implemented to ensure environmental safety and compliance  with  pollution  control  norms  in  the  chemical  and  fertilizer industries?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

## (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

(a) &  (c): To  promote  domestic  manufacturing  of  chemicals  in  the country, Department  has  adopted  a  multi-pronged  approach  by  improving  infrastructure, boosting the role of research and development in the sector, improving the quality of manpower  deployed  in  the  sector  by  better  skilling  and  attracting  more  foreign investment into the country. Details of these initiatives are indicated below:-

## I. Infrastructure

-  Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs)

Government of India has notified the PCPIR Policy to attract investment and for the generation of employment in the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical  Investment  Regions  (PCPIRs).  PCPIRs  promote  Chemical and Petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment friendly manner on  a  large  scale.  PCPIRs  are  conceptualized  in  a  cluster-based  approach with  common  infrastructure  and  support  services  to  provide  a  competitive environment conducive for setting up businesses. At present, three Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) are being  implemented  in  the  States  of  Andhra  Pradesh  (Vishakhapatnam), Gujarat (Dahej) and Odisha (Paradeep) to promote investment and industrial development in these sectors.

The status of implementation of these PCPIR projects is indicated below:-

| Indicator                    | Gujarat                             | Andhra Pradesh            | Odisha                              | Total    |
|------------------------------|-------------------------------------|---------------------------|-------------------------------------|----------|
| Location/ Region             | Dahej, Bharuch                      | Vishakhapatnam - Kakinada | Paradeep                            | -        |
| Approval                     | Feb, 2009                           | Feb, 2009                 | Dec, 2010                           | -        |
| Total Area (Sq. kms.)        | 453.00                              | 640.00                    | 284.15                              | 1377.15  |
| Anchor Tenant                | ONGC Petro Additions Limited (OPaL) | --                        | Indian Oil Corporati on Ltd. (IOCL) | -        |
| Investments made (Rs. Crore) | 1,28,509                            | 58,918                    | 73,518                              | 2,60,945 |
| Employment generated (No.)   | 2,45,140                            | 86,123                    | 40,000                              | 3,71,263 |
| No. of Chemical Units        | 2079                                | 154                       | 13                                  | 2246     |

These PCPIRs has attracted investment of Rs. 2.61 lakh crore in Petroleum, Chemicals, Petrochemicals and ancillary industries and generated employment to 3.7 lakh persons.

##  Plastic Park Scheme

A scheme has been formulated by the Department for setting up  of needbased  PlasticParks with requisite  infrastructure  and  enabling  common facilities.  The  objective  is  to  consolidate  and  synergize  the  capacities  of downstream plastic processing industry to help increase investment, production and export in the sector as well as generate employment. Under the  Scheme,  common  infrastructure  for  the  industrial  units  is  provided including  effluent  treatment  plant,  solid/  hazardous  waste  management, facilities for plastic recycling, incinerator etc. Some of the Plastic Parks have also established in-house recycling sheds for recycling of plastic waste. 10 Plastic Parks have been approved so far.

## II. Research & Development

##  Centres of Excellence (CoEs)

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has formulated a scheme on setting up of Centres of Excellence. The objective is to provide grant-inaid  to  educational  and  research  institutions  to  improve  existing  technology and promote development of new applications of polymers, chemicals and plastics. The emphasis of the Scheme is on modernization and upgradation of  existing  manufacturing  processes  as  well  as  improving  the  quality  of products.  Under  the  scheme,  the  Government  of  India  provides  financial support upto 50% of the total project cost, subject to an upper limit of Rs. 5 crores. So far, 18 CoEs have been approved under the Scheme.

## III. Skilling initiatives

The Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) is  a  technical  education  institution  under  the  Department  engaged  in  skill development,  technology  support, as well  as  academic  and  research activities  for  the  promotion  of  the  petrochemical  and  allied  industry  in  the country. CIPET has 48 centres across the country which includes Institutes of  Plastics  Technology,  Centres  for  Skilling  and  Technical  Support  and Schools  for  Advanced  Research  in  Polymers.  During  2023-24,  CIPET provided  training  to  66,606  persons  towards  long  term  professional  skill development as well as for short term vocational skill development.

With regard to Urea, the Government had announced New Investment Policy (NIP) 2012  on  2nd  January,  2013  and  its  amendment  on  7th  October,  2014  to  facilitate fresh  investment  in  the  urea  sector  and  to  make  India  self-sufficient  in  the  urea sector. Total 6 new urea units have been set up under NIP-2012 which includes 4 urea units set up through Joint Venture Companies (JVC) of nominated PSUs and 2 urea  units  set  up  by  the  private  companies.  The  units  set  up  through  JVC  are Ramagundam  urea  unit  of  Ramagundam  Fertilizers  and  Chemicals  Ltd  (RFCL)  in Telangana  and  3  urea  units  namely  Gorakhpur,  Sindri  and  Barauni  of  Hindustan Urvarak  &  Rasayan  Limited  (HURL)  in  Uttar  Pradesh,  Jharkhand  and  Bihar, respectively. The units set up by private companies are Panagarh urea unit of Matix Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (Matix) in West Bengal; and Gadepan-III urea unit of Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (CFCL) in Rajasthan. Each of these units has installed  capacity of 12.7  Lakh  Metric Tonne per annum (LMTPA). These units are highly energy efficient as they are based on latest technology. Therefore, these units have together added urea production of 76.2 LMTPA thereby total production urea production  capacity  has  increased  from  207.54  LMTPA  during  2014-15  to  283.74 LMTPA at present.

In addition, the Government also notified the New Urea Policy (NUP) - 2015 on  25th  May,  2015  for  the  existing  25  gas-based  urea  units  with  one  of  the objectives  of  maximizing  indigenous  urea  production.  The  NUP-2015  has  led  to additional production of urea by 20-25 LMTPA as compared to the production during 2014-15.

These steps together have facilitated increase of Urea production from level of 225  LMT  per  annum  during  2014-15  to  a  record  Urea  Production  at  314.07  LMT during 2023-24.

The employment generation at Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL) across its  three  urea  units-Gorakhpur,  Sindri,  and  Barauni-is  approximately  4,000, including 1,000 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. Additionally, at the Panagarh urea unit of Matix Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (Matix), the total employment provided in the existing  setup,  including  the  marketing  network,  is  1,391  (as  on  31.03.2025), consisting  of  471  own  employees  and  920  contractual  workers  under  various contracts. Furthermore,  the Gadepan-III  urea  unit of Chambal  Fertilisers  and Chemicals Ltd. (CFCL) generates approximately 767 jobs, comprising 207 direct (onroll) employees and 560 indirect (through contracts) workers.

With  regard  to  P&K  Fertilizers,  following  measures  have  been  taken  by  the Government for making the country self-reliant in the production of fertilizers:

- (i) Based on the requests, the new manufacturing units or increase in manufacturing capacity of existing units have been recognized/taken on record under the NBS subsidy scheme, with a view to boost manufacturing and make country self-reliant in fertilizer production.
- (ii) The number of P&K fertilizers covered under NBS policy has been increased from  22  grades  in  2021  to  28  grades  at  present  with  a  view  to  boost manufacturing  and  make  country  self-reliant  in  fertilizer  production.  06  new grades  added  are  NPK  08-21-21,  NPK  09-24-24,  Potash  Derived  Molasses (PDM) (0-0-14.5-0), NPK 11-30-14 fortified with Magnesium, Zinc, Boron and Sulphur,  Urea-SSP  Complex  5-15-0-10  and  SSP  0-16-0-11  fortified  with Magnesium, Zinc and Boron.
- (iii) Freight  Subsidy  on  SSP,  which  is  an  indigenously  manufactured  fertilizer,  is applicable since Kharif, 2022 to promote SSP usage for providing Phosphatic or 'P' nutrient to the soil.

(b): Government mandated revival  of  Talcher  unit  of  M/s  FCIL,  located  in  Angul district, Odisha. Accordingly, a Joint Venture Company  named  M/s.  Talcher Fertilizers  Ltd.  (TFL)  has  been  incorporated  for  setting  up  Coal  Gasification-based Ammonia Urea Plant of 12.7 LMTPA capacity, which is first of its kind in India.

The  under  implementation  TFL  project  has  been  envisaged  for  utilizing  the abundantly available domestic coal for Urea production as it has emerged as the best  possible  option  since  the  country  is  endowed  with  rich  reserves  of  coal.  On completion of the project, the production of urea in the country will increase by 12.7 LMTPA and will assist in maximizing the indigenous production of Urea and provide security in feedstock supply as coal would be sourced domestically and providing alternate route of urea production to diversify the feedstock risk in the sector.

Further, under Urea Subsidy Scheme, Urea is presently provided to the farmers at a statutorily  notified  Maximum  Retail  Price  (MRP).  The  MRP  of  45  kg  bag  of  urea  is Rs.242  per bag (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  in  the country are supplied urea at the subsidized rates and thereby are beneficiaries of this scheme.

For  P&K  fertilizers,  Government  monitors  international  prices  of  key  fertilizers  and raw materials and fluctuations, if any, are subsumed while fixing NBS rates for P&K fertilizers  annually/bi-annually  to  ensure  affordable  supply  of  P&K  fertilizers  to  the farmers. As far as DAP is concerned,  to ensure affordability of DAP to the farmers, in view  of  the  geo-political  situation  and  price  volatility,  the  MRP  of  DAP  has  been maintained at Rs.1350 per 50 Kg through one-time special package @Rs.3500 per MT  and  linking  the  subsidy  to  international  market  prices  from  01.04.2024  to 31.03.2025.

Further,  following  steps  are  taken  by  the  Government  every  season  for  ensuring timely and adequate supply of fertilizers in the country:

- i. Before the commencement  of  each  cropping  season, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), in consultation with all the State Governments, assesses the state-wise & month-wise requirement of fertilizers.
- ii. On  the  basis  of  requirement  projected,  Department  of  Fertilizers  allocates sufficient/adequate  quantities  of  fertilizers  to  States  by  issuing  monthly supply plan and continuously monitors the availability.
- iii. The movement of all major subsidized fertilizers is monitored throughout the country  by  an  on-line  web  based  monitoring  system  called  integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS);
- iv. Regular Weekly Video Conference is conducted jointly by DA&FW and D/o Fertilizers with State Agriculture Officials and corrective actions are taken to dispatch fertilizers as indicated by the State Governments.

(d): For  the  protection  of  environment  and  to  prevent  chemical  accidents  the Ministry  under  the  Environment  Protection  Act,  1986,  has  notified  several  rules including  (i)  Manufacture,  Storage  and  Import  of  Hazardous  Chemical  (MSIHC) Rules, 1989 (as amended), (ii) Chemical Accident (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1986 (as amended) and (iii) Hazardous Waste Management Rules, 2016 (as amended). The Ministry has also notified the emission and discharge standards for fertilizer industry vide the notification G.S.R.  1607 (E), dated the 29 th December, 2017.

Fertilizer  industry  is  proactive  in  its  efforts  to  minimize  the  impact  of  production  of fertilizer  to  the  environment.  By  and  large,  fertilizer  industry  is  complying  with standards prescribed under Environment Protection Rules, 1986 and regulations of State Pollution Control Boards. The environmental safety measures for compliance with pollution control norms are incorporated right from design stage.  Fertilizer plants modernize and adopt measures to meet the requirement of new/revised standards. Industry over the years have undertaken measures to reduced GHG emissions from the  production  by  improving  energy  efficiency,  switching  to  cleaner  feedstock  like natural gas from coal, naphtha and fuel oil. Currently, feedstock for making urea in the country is natural gas.  Fertilizer plants have adopted 3R methodology i.e reduce, reuse and recycle to reduce the wastewater generation and discharge.  The fertilizer plants have made tremendous efforts to reduce the water consumption by adopting technologies  for  treating  effluents  and  making  it  suitable  for  reuse  as  boiler  feed water and make-up water in cooling towers. Further, plants are adopting measures to achieve  zero  liquid  discharge  (ZLD).  International  voluntary  standards  like  IS/ISO 14001 on Environment Management System and ISO 18001 international standard for  health  and  safety  management  systems  have  been  adopted  for  continuous improvement by almost all major fertilizer companies.

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