{"id":36845,"date":"2025-01-14T12:37:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T07:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=36845"},"modified":"2025-04-22T08:30:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T03:00:28","slug":"indias-urea-fertilizer-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-urea-fertilizer-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Progress, Challenges and the Path to Self-Reliance of India&#8217;s Urea Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Overview of Fertiliser Sector in India<\/li>\n<li>What is Urea Fertilizer?<\/li>\n<li>Rising Domestic Urea Production<\/li>\n<li>Greenfield Projects and Efficiency<\/li>\n<li>Make vs. Buy Debate<\/li>\n<li>Strategic Shift and Policy Recommendations<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Amid challenges in the fertilizer sector, such as shortages in di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and limited investments in manufacturing, India&#8217;s urea industry has achieved significant progress.<\/li>\n<li>Domestic production has risen considerably, reflecting efforts toward the central government&#8217;s goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Overview of Fertiliser Sector in India:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Economic Survey 2023-24 <\/strong>states that the Indian Agriculture sector provides livelihood support to about <strong>42.3%<\/strong> of the population and has a share of <strong>18.2%<\/strong> in the country\u2019s GDP at current prices.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fertilizers, water and seeds are vital inputs <\/strong>for achieving higher agricultural production in the country.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Government has undertaken various efforts <\/strong>during the last decade due to which the total fertilizer production has increased from 385.39 million tonnes (mt) in 2014-15 to 503.35 mt in 2023-24.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Several measures <\/strong>were undertaken by the Government to increase the total fertilizer production in the country.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Urea Subsidy Scheme,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>New Urea Policy 2015,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Nutrient based Subsidy scheme, etc.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Besides, it also promotes sustainable methods such as the use of alternative fertilizers viz., <strong>Nano Urea, Nano DAP and organic fertilizer<\/strong> in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is Urea Fertilizer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>It is a nitrogen-rich fertilizer <\/strong>(46% nitrogen) used to promote crop growth and development.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It&#8217;s a low-cost fertilizer.<\/strong> Its high nitrogen content makes transportation and storage less expensive.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urea is absorbed <\/strong>by plants directly or converted to ammonia and carbon dioxide by soil microorganisms.<\/li>\n<li>It can also be used as a<strong> cattle feed supplement,<\/strong> and has industrial applications, such as in the <strong>production of plastics.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Rising Domestic Urea Production:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/Rising_Domestic_Urea_Production_a411e0a1e6.webp\" alt=\"Rising Domestic Urea Production\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Growth trends:<\/strong> Between 2011-12 and 2023-24, domestic urea production rose from 22 million tonnes (mt) to 31.4 mt, while imports decreased from 7.8 mt to 7 mt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Import reduction: <\/strong>The current fiscal recorded a 31.7% drop in imports, potentially reducing imports to below 5 mt, the lowest since 2006-07.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Greenfield Projects and Efficiency:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>New plants:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Six new urea plants contributed significantly to increased production, with a combined output of 7.55 mt in 2023-24.<\/li>\n<li>Investments ranged from Rs 6,000-8,600 crore per plant.<\/li>\n<li>Plants include those by HURL, Chambal Fertilisers, Matix Fertilisers, and RFCL.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Energy efficiency:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>New plants consume about 5 giga-calories (GCal) per tonne, compared to 5.5-6.5 GCal for older units.<\/li>\n<li>The Matix Fertiliser plant in Panagarh (West Bengal) emerged as the most energy-efficient, with 4.856 GCal\/tonne consumption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Regional focus: <\/strong>These plants cater to \u201c<strong>new Green Revolution<\/strong>\u201d areas like <strong>Eastern UP, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Telangana<\/strong>, providing a 20% market share in Eastern India.\n<ul>\n<li>Older units such as the National Fertilizers Ltd\u2019s (NFL) Bathinda, Nangal and Panipat, caters to farmers in Punjab and Haryana.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upcoming projects:<\/strong><i> (Talcher Fertilizer Plant)<\/i><\/li>\n<li>Located in <strong>Odisha<\/strong>, this Rs 17,080 crore plant will use coal as a feedstock with advanced coal gasification technology.<\/li>\n<li>Coal blending with petroleum coke aims to maximize indigenous resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Make vs. Buy Debate:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cost comparison:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Domestic production costs:<\/strong> $427-$493 per tonne, depending on tax adjustments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Imported urea costs:<\/strong> $370-403 per tonne.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Logistics advantage:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Transport and bagging costs make imported urea less viable for northern and eastern regions.<\/li>\n<li>Domestic plants reduce logistical expenses and provide employment and economic activity under the<strong> Make-in-India initiative.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Strategic Shift and Policy Recommendations:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Regional production strategy:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Focus on increasing production in <strong>Northern and Eastern India<\/strong> while optimizing imports for Peninsular India.<\/li>\n<li>Shut down older, inefficient plants to enhance energy efficiency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rational pricing:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Urea\u2019s farmgate price has been fixed at Rs 5,360\/tonne since 2012, leading to excessive consumption.<\/li>\n<li>Rational pricing is crucial for balanced fertilizer use and reducing dependency on both production and imports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s urea industry has made significant strides toward self-reliance with new energy-efficient plants and strategic investments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>However, achieving a sustainable balance between domestic production and imports requires policy interventions in pricing, regional production focus, and the judicious application of fertilizers.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What is the New Urea Policy 2015?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The NUP was announced by the Department of Fertilizers in 2015, to increase the production of urea domestically, make urea production more energy efficient, and reduce the government&#8217;s subsidy burden.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is the new Green Revolution?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The new green revolution is a set of approaches to agriculture that aims to increase food production while reducing environmental damage and benefiting poor farmers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/urea-investment-success-story-9767313\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2042537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid challenges in the fertilizer sector, such as shortages in di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and limited investments in manufacturing, India&#8217;s urea industry has achieved significant progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-36845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}