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Fertilizers
Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) has urged the government to provide financial relief to urea producers hit by gas supply disruptions, warning that production shortfalls and a separate packaging materials crunch could disrupt fertiliser supplies ahead of the crucial kharif season. In a letter to the government, FAI called for energy cost reimbursements and penalty waivers for plants operating under constrained gas supplies, citing extraordinary circumstances stemming from the ongoing geopolitical crisis. Fertiliser plants are classified under Priority Sector-2 in the Natural Gas Supply Regulation Order notified on March 9, 2026, which allocates them 70 per cent of their six-month average consumption. FAI said the restriction was squeezing production at plants operating under the New Urea Policy 2025, modified NPS III and NIP 2012 frameworks. The industry body sought the government to recognise actual energy consumption or applicable energy norms - whichever is higher - during
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday pitched for transferring the central government's Rs 1.7 lakh crore annual fertiliser subsidy to farmers' bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), saying it would give them the freedom to choose which fertilisers to buy and in what quantities. Addressing the Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) campus here, Chouhan said a bag of urea that actually costs Rs 2,400 reaches farmers at just Rs 265-270 because of the subsidy the central government absorbs. "If such a large subsidy is transferred directly to farmers' accounts through DBT, farmers will be able to decide which fertilisers to purchase and in what quantities. This system will ensure that the actual beneficiary of the subsidy is the farmer who applies the fertiliser to the fields," he said. Currently, fertiliser subsidies in India are primarily transferred to companies rather than directly to farmers. Though the ...
The Indian Micro-Fertilizers Manufacturers Association has urged the Centre to extend the 5 per cent GST across all fertilisers notified under the Fertiliser Control Order, expedite refunds of excess GST credits, and implement a unified licensing system ahead of the Union Budget. While acknowledging GST 2.0 as a "landmark reform" for the sector, particularly the reduction in GST from 12 per cent to 5 per cent on Schedule 1G items and their mixtures, the industry body said manufacturers are now facing an inverted duty structure on certain inputs where raw materials and services attract higher GST than finished products. "This results in accumulation of excess input tax credit, locking up working capital for manufacturers," said Rahul Mirchandani, president of the association and chairman of Aries Agro Limited. The association has called for a "clear and time-bound mechanism" for quick refund of excess GST credits, especially for sectors operating under price-sensitive and regulated .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a Rs 10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea plant in Dibrugarh district of Assam. The Assam Valley Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd (AVFCCL) will have an annual urea production capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes, and the project is scheduled for commissioning in 2030. In July this year, AVFCCL was incorporated at Namrup in Dibrugarh district. A new plant within the existing premises of the Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corp Ltd (BVFCL) was approved by the Union Cabinet in March this year. AVFCCL is a joint venture among the Assam government, Oil India, National Fertilisers Ltd (NFL), Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd (HURL) and BVFCL.
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) Managing Director K J Patel has projected a 10 per cent net profit growth for FY26, even as the cooperative grapples with sluggish domestic adoption of its flagship nano fertilisers and intensifies farmer training programmes to unlock their potential. In an interview to PTI, Patel, a four-decade IFFCO veteran who recently took over from U S Awasthi after his 32-year tenure, outlined a holistic strategy centred on the cooperative's "crown jewel"- its enduring bond with 36,000 cooperatives and over 5 crore farmers. "Our motto is to make sure that fertilisers are manufactured and they are also delivered to farmers with enough explanation how to use them, when to use them," said Patel, emphasising soil-specific guidance and quality seed advice aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of doubling farmers' income. Four years after launch, nano fertilisers- touted as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical inputs - remain IFFCO's most
India's fertilizer imports are estimated to jump 41 per cent to 22.3 million tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year due to a surge in domestic demand following good monsoon rains, the Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) said on Tuesday. The world's second-largest fertilizer consumer has imported 14.45 million tonnes during April-October, up nearly 69 per cent from 8.56 million tonnes a year earlier, the industry body said. "There has been an increase in imports of fertilizers because of a sudden spurt in domestic demand because of good rains," FAI Chairman S Shankarsubramanian told reporters ahead of the association's three-day annual seminar. Fertilizer stocks stood at 10.2 million tonnes by end-November versus 9.97 million tonnes a year earlier, including 5 million tonnes of urea, 1.7 million tonnes of DAP and 3.5 million tonnes of NPK fertilizers, he said. Shankarsubramanian, who is also managing director of Coromandel International, said India has contracted large volumes in the l
The government has cancelled 5,371 licences of fertiliser firms for black marketing, hoarding as well as for distributing substandard material, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Jagat Prakash Nadda said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. In response to a question asked by BJP member Kiran Choudhary, Nadda said while states are empowered to take action on malpractices, the Centre takes action under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 and the Fertiliser Control Order to check malpractices such as diversion, hoarding and overpricing. He said action on substandard material is taken under the Fertiliser Control Order. "We would like to tell you, as you asked, from April 1 to November 28, there were 5,058 show-cause notices in black marketing, FIRs were lodged in 442 cases and licences cancelled were 3,732," Nadda said. Similarly, in hoarding, there were 687 show-cause notices, 202 licence cancellations and 446 FIRs. In the case of distributing substandard material, show-cause ..
Volume growth of complex fertilisers is expected to slow down to 2-4 per cent in this financial year from 9 per cent last year amid import constraints, geopolitical headwinds and a high-base effect, a report said on Thursday. Crisil Ratings in the report stated that supply disruptions have also led to a rise in raw material prices, which in turn may increase the subsidy requirement. However, credit profiles are seen stable because of steady profitability, expected additional subsidy allocation and its timely disbursement, said the report. "Volume growth of complex fertilisers is seen slowing to 2-4 per cent this fiscal after a strong 9 per cent print last fiscal because of availability issues with imported fertilisers, ongoing geopolitical disruptions and high-base effect," the report said. Complex fertilisers account for a third of the overall domestic fertiliser consumption of which nitrogen phosphorus potassium (NPK) grades comprise 55 per cent and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) ..