Economy

After Nano Urea, Nano DAP gets approved

The Government of India approved the nano-liquid DAP fertiliser for the benefit of farmers and to make the country self-reliant, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Dr Mansukh Mandaviya informed in a tweet posted on March 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also hailed the decision, calling it an important step towards making life easier for the nation’s farmer brothers and sisters.

IFFCO’s nano Di-Ammonia Phosphate (DAP) received approval from Union Agriculture Ministry, it was notified in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) on 3rd March. Fertiliser cooperative IFFCO, Managing Director U S Awasthi stated, “IFFCO will manufacture nano DAP which will prove to be a game changer for Indian agriculture and economy.”

DAP, the second most consumed fertilizer in the country after urea, reportedly sees an estimated annual consumption of around 10-12.5 million tonnes; the local production is around 4-5 million tonnes while the rest has to be imported.

The newly developed IFFCO Nano DAP is expected to reduce the cost in comparison to conventional DAP while also cutting down the subsidy. It is said that one bottle of Nano DAP would cost around Rs 600.

Currently, the cost of one bag of conventional DAP is between Rs. 1,350-1,400 while the actual cost of a bag is Rs 4,000. The gap between the actual cost and prices paid by the farmers is borne by the government under the fertiliser subsidy head, as per a report by Indian Cooperatives portal.

Making India AatmaNirbhar in Fertilizers

The Department of Fertilizer is implementing schemes such as the Urea Subsidy Scheme, Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS) and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) projects for fertilizer subsidy payments which are implemented on a PAN India basis for ensuring adequate availability of fertilizers to the farmers.

In addition to this, the Ministry has also initiated the ‘One Nation One Fertilizer scheme’ under the Fertilizer Subsidy Scheme, which aims to ensure a timely supply of fertilizers, as well as eliminate the dilemma of farmers in choosing one of the many brands available in the market.

In Budget 2023, the Centre had allocated a total fertilizer subsidy of around Rs 1,05,222 crore of which almost 40 per cent is for non-urea fertilisers.

The Chemicals and Fertilisers’ Minister noted that the approval of Nano DAP will bring a positive difference in the lives of farmers of the country and help fulfil PM Modi's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. “Now, a bag of DAP will be available in the form of a bottle of DAP,” the Minister has informed.

Putting agriculture at the epicentre of the country’s journey towards Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) with farmers at its core, the Central Government has been taking up significant steps for the upliftment, empowerment and stability of farmers in a holistic manner. It is being said that the use of Nano urea will lead to an increase in farmer income by reducing input costs, enabling higher crop yield and better prices with high-quality crops.

 

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