Moneycontrol Bureau
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has decided to remove cap of 35 percent on neem-coated urea. Removing this cap (of 35 percent) will give impetus to agri sector, said minister Anant Kumar, adding that the move will increase yield by 10 percent on an average.
Welcoming the decision, Satish Chander, Director General, Fertiliser Association of India, said the industry had been pleading past many years to remove this “artificial limit” and feels the move will definitely help in improving productivity.
Coating urea with neem has many advantages like the release of the nitrogen becomes slow and it also helps reducing risk of disease in crops, Chander said.
However, this may increase the prices by around 5 percent. “We will be giving better product to farmers, who have been demanding for something like this. The extra cost, which would be about Rs 200-300 per tonne, will be absorbed by farmers as it has no subsidy implication. But it will increase the efficiency. Thus, has all positive features and doesn’t cost government anything,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a media interaction, the Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Kumar said the fertiliser investment policy will be finalised soon. Emphasizing that the country does not have fertiliser shortage, he said the government is arranging 1,706 rail rakes for fertiliser distribution and using 8-10 ports for handling imports. Kumar expects clarity on gas pricing formula to boost production by 2 million tonne. The minister plans to revive 6-7 fertiliser plants, including the one in Gorakhpur and wants to see the country becoming self-sufficient in fertiliser production in 5 years. He also announced continuation of naptha subsidy to the plants of Mangalore Chemicals, Madras Fertilisers and Tuticorin Fertiliser.
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