Lok Sabha Question No. 5572 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: Reduction in the use of Chemical Fertilizers
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Shri Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5572 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026

## Reduction in the use of Chemical Fertilizers

5572: Shri Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa:

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

- a) the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  reduce  the  use  of  chemical fertilizers; and
- b) the steps being taken to prevent excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers along with the details of the damage caused by the use of the said fertilizers?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

## (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

(a) & (b): Government promotes judicious use of fertilizer through Soil Health & Fertility scheme. The scheme is being implemented since 2014-15 to provide Soil Health Cards (SHCs) for all farm holdings, to promote balanced and integrated nutrient management for improving productivity and soil fertility. Soil samples are processed as per standard procedures and analysed for parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity, Organic Carbon,  available  Nitrogen,  Phosphorus,  Potassium,  Sulphur,  and  micronutrients (Zinc, Copper, Iron, Manganese & Boron).

The diagnostic soil health assessment of farmer fields is taken up periodically so as to issue SHCs at least once in 3 years. Since 2014-15, 25.93 crore Soil Health Cards have  been  generated/  distributed  as  on  date  across  the  country.  Total  8313  Soil Testing Labs (1267 Static Soil Testing Labs, 168 Mobile Soil Testing Labs, 6197 Mini Soil  Testing  Labs  and  681  Village  Level Soil  Testing  Labs) have  been  established across the country.

In addition to state soil labs above, 1020 school mini soil labs are also established in the country under school soil health programme. Under the scheme, Rs. 2085.52 Crore fund  has  been  released  so  far  since  inception.  93781  farmer's  trainings,  6.80  lakh demonstrations, 7425 farmer's melas/ campaigns on soil health card

recommendations have been organized across the country.  1351166  ha  area  also covered under Promotion & Distribution of Micronutrients in the scheme.

National  Productivity  Council  (NPC),  New  Delhi  carried  out  a  study  'Soil  Testing Infrastructure for Faster Delivery of SHC in India' in 2017 in 76 districts of 19 States including Madhya Pradesh covering 170 soil testing labs and 1700 farmers. As a result of application of fertilizer and micronutrients as per SHC recommendations, there has been a decrease of use of chemical fertilizer application in the range of 8-10% was found. Overall 5-6% increase in the yield of crops was reported, due to application of fertilizer  and  micronutrients  as  per  SHC.  An  impact  study  of  Soil  Health  &  Fertility Scheme  (November  2017)  was  conducted  by  National  Institute  of  Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad. As per report, about 62.8% of the farmers use fertilizers according to the recommendations on the SHC. The cost per acre reduced by 4 to 10 % due to low fertilizer use. Crop yields increased for majority of the crops, although moderately. Overall, paddy farmers reduced use of urea by 9%, Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP)/Single Super Phosphate by 7%, but increased use of Potassium by 20%. There was substantial decline in fertilizer use especially urea and DAP in paddy and cotton resulted in decreased cost of cultivation per unit area.

Further,  the  Cabinet  Committee  on  Economic  Affairs  (CCEA),  on  June  28,  2023, approved the PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother-Earth (PM-PRANAM). The initiative aims to support the mass movement initiated by States and Union Territories (UTs) to preserve the health of  Mother  Earth  through  the  promotion  of  sustainable  and  balanced  fertilizer  use, adoption of alternative fertilizers, promotion of organic farming, and implementation of resource conservation technologies.

All States/UTs are covered under the PM-PRANAM scheme. Under the PM-PRANAM scheme,  there  is  a  provision  to  provide  incentives  to  States/UTs  for  reduction  of consumption of chemical fertilizers (Urea, DAP, NPK, MOP) in a given financial year, compared to the average consumption over the previous three years, equivalent to 50% of the fertilizer subsidy saved. Of the total grant, 95% will be allocated to the State, while the remaining 5% will be utilized by the Government of India. Out of the 95% grant provided to the States, 65% is for capital expenditure (capex) projects, preferably as  contributions  to  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes,  and  30%  is  untied  for  other activities, including Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) initiatives.

Also, the Government has implemented Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme w.e.f. 01.04.2010 for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers. Under the policy, a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on annual/bi-annual basis, is provided to manufacturer / importer on subsidized P&K fertilizers depending on their nutrient content i.e. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) and Sulphur (S). The Nutrient-Based Subsidy

(NBS) Scheme, encourages balanced fertilization of soil by promoting basket of NPK grade fertilizers along with additional subsidy on fortification with micronutrients like Zinc & Boron.

In  addition,  the  Government  has  approved  Market  Development  Assistance  (MDA) Scheme (FY 2023-24 to 2025-26) under which assistance @ Rs. 1500/MT is being provided  to  CBG  plants/  Fertilizer  Marketing  Companies  for  promotion  of  Organic carbon enhancers, viz., Fermented Organic Manure (FOM)/Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM) and organic fertilizer, viz., Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM) produced at plants under GOBARdhan initiative, with total outlay of Rs.1451.84 Crore (FY 2023-24 to 2025-26), which includes, a corpus of Rs. 360 Crore for research gap funding,  etc.  These  initiatives  of  the  Government  are  expected  to  address  the imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers thereby reducing chemical fertilizer use.

Long-term studies conducted by ICAR at 17 locations across diverse agro-ecological regions of the country demonstrate the impact of balanced nutrient application on soil health and crop productivity. The findings indicate that recommended NPK application (100% NPK) improves crop yields by about 20-30 per cent over nitrogen-only use, while  integrated  nutrient  management  (100%  NPK+  farmyard  manure)  further enhances  productivity  by  30-50  percent  over  control  plots.  Soil  organic  carbon  is highest under integrated nutrient management, improving by about 0.1-0.3 percentage points over long-term nitrogen-only treatments, indicating better soil health. Microbial biomass carbon is also significantly higher, by 20-40 percent, under integrated nutrient management compared to chemical fertilizers alone. In contrast, continuous nitrogenonly application leads to declining yields and deterioration of soil properties over time.

Further, under AIRP-STCR, soil test-based balanced fertilizer prescription equations have  been  developed  for  major  crops  to  enable  site-specific  nutrient  management based on soil fertility and farmers' resources. Coordinated programmes also promote balanced fertilization and integrated nutrient management through training, demonstrations, and awareness activities. Overall, balanced and integrated nutrient application  is  essential  for  sustaining  soil  fertility,  improving  crop  productivity,  and ensuring environmental sustainability.

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