In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Bhagwanth Khuba said the govt has provisionally notified Nano Urea as Nano Nitrogen Fertilizers in Fertilizers Control Order, 1985 on 24th February, 2021. The move is to boost the adoption of new age fertilizers in Indian farms, felt the Minister.
The Minister said it has been the endeavour of the Government of India to recognize and identify the need for new fertilizers in the country. New fertilizers like Nano fertilizers, soil and crop specific customized fertilizers, Bio-stimulants, slow releasing fertilizers like Neem Coated Urea etc have been included under Fertilizer Control Order, 1985, he added.
PDM or Potash Derived from Molasses which is 100% indigenously manufactured has been included under Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme, informed the Minister to the House.
Government recommends soil test based balanced and integrated nutrient management through conjunctive use of both inorganic and organic sources (manure, bio-fertilizers, green manuring, in-situ crop residue recycling etc) of plant nutrients with 4Rs approach i.e. right quantity, right time, right mode and right type of fertilizers and to reduce use of chemical fertilizers, he underlined.
In addition, split application, use of slow releasing fertilizers including neem coated urea and growing leguminous crops are also advocated, he stated.
In reply to another question on DBT, the Minister claimed that there is no shortage of urea in the country largely due to neem-coating, a statement which can be contested by many across states.
Minister quoted two extensive & independent evaluation studies conducted by NITI Aayog to say that the implementation of DBT System has streamlined the Fertilizer distribution. Retailers and farmers in all districts reported “Nil shortage” of urea owing to neem coating.
There is improved tracking through mFMS Id i.e Fertilizer companies have on-boarded untraceable retailers and co-operative depots on mFMS system to avoid delay in subsidy payments, claimed the Minister.
Overcharging by retailers has reduced as each fertilizer purchase by farmers is supported by a receipt generated through PoS machines indicating both MRP paid by the farmers and the subsidy component paid by the Government on the quantity of fertilizer purchased by the farmers, he said.
Cross border sale has also reduced e.g across the border to Nepal and Bangladesh from Kishanganj, said the Minister.