India plans to switch from consuming 2.5 million tonnes (mt) of conventional urea to nano urea in FY24, according to a press conference held on Friday by Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. This is consistent with India’s objective of producing enough urea on its own by 2025.
According to the ministry, India consumed 31.7 mt of urea in the ten months leading up to February 2024, compared to 35.7 mt during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
“We will reduce 2.5 million tonnes (mt) of conventional urea consumption this year and replace it with an alternative fertiliser like nano urea. In February and March of FY24, we are expecting urea consumption to be no more than 1 mt on average, which will translate to a total of 32.7 mt of urea consumed in FY24,” Mandaviya stated. “This is because of our efforts to create awareness among farmers to use nano-urea.”
“In the past two years, the use of conventional urea has been lower in 344 districts, and 74 districts have started using more nano urea,” he further added.
The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) sold nearly 3.3 million tonnes of nano urea, valued at approximately ₹7 crore, between August 2021 and February 2024, according to the ministry.
To suit domestic demand, conventional urea is produced at three sites nationwide. India’s urea consumption is expected to increase by 6-7% year, and the government plans to produce urea at a fourth plant. The minister stated that urea production capacity may be boosted by 1.25 million metric tons annually with this plant, which is owned by Talcher Fertilizers Limited in Odisha. The existing three facilities generate 28.4 million metric tons of urea annually.
Additionally, a sizable portion of the union budget is allocated to fertilizer subsidies. The amount of money the government spent on fertiliser subsidies in 2022–2023 was ₹2.55 trillion, a record high.
In her budget statement last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government would cut the amount allotted for fertiliser subsidies by 13%, from the revised budget estimate of ₹1.89 trillion for FY24 to ₹1.64 trillion in FY25. Initially, ₹1.75 trillion had been set up for fertilizer subsidies in FY24.
