Aiming for self-sufficiency in indigenous urea production, the Centre has done away with the 35 per cent cap on neem-coated urea production. The move will now allow fertilizer companies to utilise 100 per cent of its plant capacity to manufacture neem-coated urea which forms between 20-25 per cent of total urea produced in India.

The removal of the production cap is also expected to rein in the subsidy bill by nearly Rs. 5,000 crore and help enhance farmers’ incomes.

“The Government has done away with the neem-coated urea cap which can now be produced up to 100 per cent. It is a win-win for industry and farmers,” said Ananth Kumar, the Fertiliser Minister, in a meeting with reporters here on Wednesday, who believed that the move would better productivity and curb the excessive use of urea.

Kumar also stated that India would not need to import urea for much longer with the Government working towards the revival of five closed urea plants while also setting up new ones. The country currently imports about 9 million tonnes (MT) of the fertilizer while producing about 22 MT. The price of urea is presently fixed by the Centre at Rs 5,360/tonne.

“With neem-coated urea, slow nitrogen release improves soil fertility which can increase yields by 15-20 per cent. It will also help Government save almost Rs 5,000 crore,” said the Minister.

Fertiliser Secretary J K Mohapatra said that the variant would cost about five per cent more than regular urea which works out to about Rs 270/tonne.

Self-sufficiency

Kumar also added that a joint-venture is being formed to revive the Ramagundam urea plant and work on a gas pipeline between Jagdishpur and Haldia was underway which would help revive closed plants in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Coal gasification, Kumar believed, had to be embraced for India to become a net urea exporter in a decade. The Talcher plant in Odisha would be the first to use the technology, he said, thanks to a joint venture pact signed by Coal India, FCIL, RCF and GAIL which will see a coal gasification-cum-ammonium nitrate complex being set up there by 2019.

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