Lok Sabha Question No. 1099 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Remedy to Remove Shortage of Fertilizers
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Kaushalendra Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS

## DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1099 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 08.12.2023

## Remedy to Remove Shortage of Fertilizers

## 1099:  SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR:

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

- (a)        whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  remove  the  shortage  of fertilizers  in  the  country  and  reduce  the  prices  thereof  on  the  lines  of  the previous year;
- (b)         if so, the details thereof;
- (c)        the quantum of fertilizers provided to the farmers in the form of central subsidy in   Nalanda district of Bihar during the last five years, year-wise;
- (d) whether  any  effective  action  plan/scheme  has  been  formulated  by  the Government to  boost the manufacturing of fertilizers in the country; and
- (e)         if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS (SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA)

- (a) to (c):  The availability of fertilizers has remained comfortable across the country during the ongoing Rabi 2023-24 season. However, following steps are taken by the Government every season to meet the adequate and timely requirement 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  DoF with State Agriculture Officials and corrective actions are taken to dispatch fertilizers as indicated by the State Governments.

v. The  gap  between  demand  (requirement)  and  production  of  fertilizers  is  met through imports. The import for the season is also finalized well in advance to ensure timely availability.

Further, under Urea Subsidy Scheme (USS), Urea is provided to the farmers at a  statutorily  notified  Maximum  Retail  Price  (MRP).  Besides,  under  Nutrient  Based Subsidy Policy, a fix amount of subsidy is notified on annual/semi-annual basis, which ensures availability of P&K fertilizers at reasonable prices to farmers. Accordingly, all farmers are being supplied fertilizers at the subsidized rates.

The quantum of fertilizers consumed in Nalanda district as per iFMS data in last 5 years, year-wise, is given as per Annexure-A.

However, D/o Fertilizers releases subsidy to Fertilizer companies and allocation of funds scheme-wise and not on State-wise/district-wise basis.

(d)  &  (e):    Government  of  India  ensures  adequate  availability  of  urea  to  meet  the requirements  of  states/UTs.  In  order  to  increase  the  availability  of  urea  through indigenous sources, Government of India announced New Investment Policy (NIP)  2012 to facilitate fresh investment in the Urea sector and to make India self sufficient in the Urea sector. A total of 6 new Urea units have been set up under NIP - 2012, which together have added 76.2 LMT per annum in the existing indigenous Urea production capacity of the country. In addition, Government of India also introduced the New Urea Policy  (NUP)-2015  on  25 th May,  2015  with  one  of  the  objectives  of  maximizing indigenous  urea  production.  As  a  result,  the  indigenous  production  of  the  country increased from 225.08 LMT in 2014-15 to 284.95 LMT in 2022-23.

Besides, following steps have been taken by the Department for increasing the domestic production of P&K fertilizers:

1. DoF granted permission to Madhya Bharat Agro product Limited Unit-II, Banda Sagar, MP for production of DAP/NPK with installed capacity 2,40,000 MT per annum.

2. DoF granted permission to  M/s.  Krishna  Phoschem Ltd,  MP for  production  of DAP/NPK with installed capacity 3,30,000 MT per annum

3. PDM or Potash Derived from Molasses (0-0-14.5-0) has been included under NBS scheme.

4. Exploration of minerals for raw materials for DAP & other fertilizers in India, in consultation with Ministry of Mines, Geological Survey  of India (GSI), Mineral Exploration  Corporation  Limited  (MECL),  FCI  Aravali  Gypsum  and  Minerals  India Limited (FAGMIL) and concerned State Governments is a continuous process.

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Sale of fertilizers to buyer/farmers

| 2019-2020   | 2019-2020   | 2019-2020     | 2019-2020          | 2019-2020   |
|-------------|-------------|---------------|--------------------|-------------|
| S.NO        | STATE NAME  | DISTRICT NAME | PRODUCT GROUP NAME | QTY (IN MT) |
| 1           | Bihar       | Nalanda       | DAP                | 26723.865   |
| 2           | Bihar       | Nalanda       | MOP                | 3408.525    |
| 3           | Bihar       | Nalanda       | NPKS               | 12162.55    |
| 4           | Bihar       | Nalanda       | SSP                | 8387.913    |
| 5           | Bihar       | Nalanda       | Urea               | 102142.078  |
| Total       |             |               |                    | 152824.931  |

| 2020-2021   | 2020-2021   | 2020-2021   | 2020-2021     | 2020-2021   |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|---------------|-------------|
| S.NO        | STATE NAME  | DISTRICT    | PRODUCT GROUP | QTY (IN MT) |
| 1           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | DAP           | 27273.525   |
| 2           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | MOP           | 3335.66     |
| 3           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | NPKS          | 13732.525   |
| 4           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | SSP           | 9371.5      |
| 5           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | Urea          | 107522.676  |
| Total       |             |             |               | 161235.886  |

| 2021-2022   | 2021-2022   | 2021-2022   | 2021-2022     | 2021-2022   |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|---------------|-------------|
| S.NO        | STATE NAME  | DISTRICT    | PRODUCT GROUP | QTY (IN MT) |
| 1           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | DAP           | 16512.582   |
| 2           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | MOP           | 801.39      |
| 3           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | NPKS          | 18807.325   |
| 4           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | SSP           | 10303.555   |
| 5           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | Urea          | 86505.119   |
| Total       |             |             |               | 132929.971  |

| 2022-2023   | 2022-2023   | 2022-2023   | 2022-2023     | 2022-2023   |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|---------------|-------------|
| S.NO        | STATE NAME  | DISTRICT    | PRODUCT GROUP | QTY (IN MT) |
| 1           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | DAP           | 17360.523   |
| 2           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | MOP           | 2029.663    |
| 3           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | NPKS          | 13571.55    |
| 4           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | SSP           | 11257.975   |
| 5           | Bihar       | Nalanda     | Urea          | 96451.527   |
| Total       |             |             |               | 140671.238  |

| 2023-2024 (Up to 05 Dec 2023)   | 2023-2024 (Up to 05 Dec 2023)   | 2023-2024 (Up to 05 Dec 2023)   | 2023-2024 (Up to 05 Dec 2023)   | 2023-2024 (Up to 05 Dec 2023)   |
|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| S.NO                            | STATE NAME                      | DISTRICT                        | PRODUCT GROUP                   | QTY (IN MT)                     |
| 1.                              | Bihar                           | Nalanda                         | DAP                             | 13399.525                       |

## Annexure -A

| 2     | Bihar   | Nalanda   | MOP   |   786.587 |
|-------|---------|-----------|-------|-----------|
| 3     | Bihar   | Nalanda   | NPKS  |   9045.98 |
| 4     | Bihar   | Nalanda   | SSP   |   7270.15 |
| 5     | Bihar   | Nalanda   | Urea  |  62115.9  |
| Total |         |           |       |  92618.1  |

Ref: https://urvarak.nic.in/getComprehensiveReportOnLastMileSaleList.action

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