New Delhi: The Cupboard Committee on Financial Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday permitted a further ₹51,875 crore subsidy for phosphatic and potassic (P&Ok) fertilisers for the rabi or winter-sown season, amid excessive international costs.
The transfer will cushion costs of crop vitamins which might be ruled by the Centre’s nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) scheme. Farmers develop quite a lot of winter-sown crops, which account for practically half of India’s annual meals output, together with wheat, lentils, legumes, millets, greens and oilseeds, reminiscent of mustard.
Below the NBS coverage, the federal government gives, on an annual foundation, a hard and fast charge of subsidy per kg for crop vitamins containing nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), potash (Ok) and sulphur (S).
The newest tranche for the winter-sown season, which runs from October to March, will add to the federal government’s report estimated full-year (2022-23) fertiliser subsidy invoice of ₹2.5 lakh crore. It’s also considerably larger than the earlier season’s ₹28,655 crore subsidy for P&Ok fertilisers, primarily on account of rising international costs of inputs.
India imports bulk of its crop vitamins, whose costs have spiralled to a five-year excessive because of the Ukraine conflict, larger power prices and knock-on results on provides because of pandemic.
“In view of a steep enhance within the worldwide costs of fertilizers & inputs i.e. Urea, DAP, MOP and Sulphur, the federal government has determined to soak up the elevated costs by growing subsidy on P&Ok fertilizers together with DAP. The subsidy could be launched to fertilizer corporations as per permitted charges in order that they’ll make fertilizers accessible to farmers at an inexpensive value,” the Cupboard mentioned in a press release.
India’s annual consumption of fertilisers stood at 2021-22 stood at 32.54 million tonnes, in opposition to 29.37 million within the earlier fiscal, recording a progress of 10.8%, based on the Fertiliser Affiliation of India.
The subsidy on P&Ok fertilisers consists of help for indigenously-made fertilisers by freight subsidy.
The per kilogram subsidy charges on the vitamins are transformed into per tonne subsidy on the varied forms of P&Ok fertilisers coated underneath the NBS coverage.
The division of fertilizers releases 85% (90% with financial institution assure) ‘on account’ cost of subsidy month-wise to the producers and importers of P&Ok fertilizers primarily based on receipt of the vitamins from states.