Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar has welcomed the pilot project on DBT in the Budget and said it will improve the quality of service delivery for farmers.
Earlier, in tweets and in a press release issued by IFFCO its MD Dr U S Awasthi also welcomed the move. His tweet read” Government announces direct transfer of #fertilizer subsidy; #IFFCO welcomes”.
Explaining the provisions of Budget Union Minister Ananth Kumar said based on some positive experiences , the government has proposed to introduce DBT on a pilot basis for fertilizers in a few districts across the country.
“Also, the Soil Health Card Scheme is now being implemented with a greater vigour. Through this, farmers get information about nutrient level of soil and can make judicious use of fertilizers. It has been decided that 2,000 model retail outlets of fertilizer companies will be provided with soil and seed testing facilities during the next three years”, Kumar underlined.
Ananth Kumar was appreciative of the budgetary provision wherein the fertilizer companies will co-market municipal compost which increases the efficacy of chemical fertilizers. A policy for conversion of municipal waste into compost has also been approved by the Government under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.