 "Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers")
The country registered its highest ever production of urea at 245 lakh metric tonne (MT) in 2015-16. “This is the highest ever production of urea in the country since independence. The production of 245 lakh MT in the year 2015-16 is about 20 lakh MT more than the last year’s production. The additional production of 20 lakh MT of urea in the country has not only helped in saving foreign exchange but also in imports substitution,” said Ananth Kumar, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, on March 31, 2016 in New Delhi.
Ananth Kumar complimented the team work and diligence of the employees and workers of the fertiliser industry for the achievement. The increased production is equivalent to production capacity of almost 2 new urea plants without any additional investment.
The record indigenous production of urea as well as timely import of the fertiliser has ensured adequate and timely availability of fertilisers in all parts of the country.
The government has made mandatory for all the indigenous producers of urea to produce 100 percent of their total production of subsidised urea as neem-coated urea. The imported urea is also being coated and thus 100-percent neem-coated urea is being supplied for agricultural use.
As a result, the Minister said, illegal diversion of subsidised urea to non-agricultural use has been curbed since neem-coated urea cannot be used for industrial purposes. Neem coated urea also has the benefit of slow release of nitrogen and hence its consumption is less compared to un-coated urea.
In order to boost single super phosphate (SSP) production, the Government has removed the minimum capacity utilisation criteria for SSP units to be eligible for the subsidy under the Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme. SSP is one of the cheapest chemical fertiliser available and it is one of the more suited for crops like oil seeds, pulses, horticulture, vegetables, sugarcane, etc. The policy will help to revive small SSP units and encourage new units to come up in the country to further boost indigenous production of SSP.
