Union Cabinet approves nutrient-based subsidy for financial year 2021-22

The cabinet has also increased the subsidy for diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer by Rs 700 to Rs 2,400 per bag.

June 16, 2021 / 16:37 IST

A farmer spreads fertilisers on his rice plants in Patra village in the northern Indian state of Punjab.

The Union Cabinet on June 16 approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixation of 'Nutrient Based Subsidy Rates' for Phosphatic and Potassic Fertilizers for the year 2021-22 (Apr-Mar), Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya said at a press conference.

As part of the nutrient-based subsidy, the cabinet has approved nitrogen subsidy at the rate of Rs 18.789 per kilogram from Rs 18.90 per kilogram earlier, the government said in a press release.

Furthermore, Phosphorus subsidy has been approved at Rs 45.323 per kilogram, Potash subsidy has been approved at Rs 10.116 per kilogram and Sulphur subsidy at Rs 2.374 per kilogram. In 2019-20 (Apr-Mar) the subsidy for Phosphorous was set at Rs 15.21 per kg, Potash at Rs 11.12 per kg and Sulphur at Rs 3.56 per kg.

The cabinet has also increased the subsidy for diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer by Rs 700 to Rs 2,400 per bag.

The union government had in May announced that it would increase the fertilizer subsidy outlay for the year by Rs 14,775 crore, taking the fertilizer subsidy outlay for 2021-22 to Rs 94,305 crore from a budgeted outlay of Rs 79,530 crore.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show