Exclusive: Govt to set up inter-ministerial committee for Urea Gold pricing, subsidy: Source

The Centre provides urea at a highly subsidised price of Rs 266 per bag of 45 kg to farmers for which it bears subsidy burden of about Rs 2,500.

The government is mulling to constitute a high level inter-ministerial committee to decide on the various aspects of Urea Gold i.e. sulphur coated urea, including pricing and subsidy criteria, which is likely to be made available to the farmers by rabi season (winter crops), a government official said.

The sulphur coated urea is likely to be approved by the Union Cabinet soon, he added, following which the inter-ministerial committee will be formed.

“It is still to be decided if sulphur coated urea will come under urea subsidy or PNK subsidy. A steering committee will be formed to decide criteria for subsidy, pricing and bag size, etc. Urea Gold will be approved by the cabinet soon,” the official told Moneycontrol.

Urea coated with sulphur helps in slow release of nitrogen, therefore increasing its availability and uptake. Gold urea has added humic acid to enhance longevity of the fertiliser. It will substitute urea consumption and also reduce fertiliser use. It is said that 15 kg of Urea Gold is comparable to 20 kg of conventional urea.

The secretary-level committee is likely to include top officials from the fertiliser ministry, NITI Aayog among others.

“The sulphur coated urea may be launched by the rabi season for use by the farmers,” he said.

Rabi crops are sown around mid-November after the monsoon rains.
The sulphur coated urea is aimed at preventing diversion of urea. Recently, the Centre launched a nationwide crackdown to prevent diversion of agriculture-grade urea for industrial purposes.

The Centre provides urea at a highly subsidised price of Rs 266 per bag of 45 kg to farmers for which it bears subsidy burden of about Rs 2,500.
Illegal diversion of agriculture-grade urea for industrial use by private entities means higher subsidy burden on the government and also leads to its shortage for farming.

The government is also promoting production of nano urea. The aim is to produce 44 crore bottles a year of nano urea by 2025 from eight plants, which will be equivalent to 200 LMT (lakh metric tonnes) of conventional urea. The liquid nano urea has been produced using nanotechnology to improve the efficiency of crop nutrients. This nano liquid will replace conventional urea and hopes to curtail its requirement by at least 50 percent. The effect of one bottle of 500 ml on the crop is equivalent to a 45-kg bag of granular urea.