-Centre for Science and Environment It is becoming clearer by the day that chemical fertilizers are not a sustainable solution to the problem of depletion of soil nutrients as a result of agriculture, particularly crop production. Biofertilizers and organic fertilizers not only provide nutrients to crops, they also help in restoring soil health and ecological balance. As we (re)discover the power and potential of biofertilizers and organic fertilizers, we need to...

-Down to Earth Urea subsidy cut 17%; allocation for NPK subsidy reduced 35%  Amid acute shortage of fertilisers in India, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman February 1, 2022, reduced subsidy on urea and nutrient-based (NPK) fertilisers. The move is expected to adversely hit the ailing farm sector. The Rs 63,222.32 crore allocation for urea subsidy in her Budget for 2022-23 was 17 per cent lower than the revised estimates (RE) for 2021-22. Another...

-Livemint.com Early adopters claim higher yields and low cultivation costs. But scientific validation is awaited Government can keep fertilizer subsidies in check. The Fertilizer Subsidy bill, driven by a spike in natural gas and other raw material prices, is set to touch a staggering ₹1.3 trillion in 2021-22 Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Or so it happened to KV Homendra. At 23, he went for a degree in...

-The Hindu In order to address the multiple goals of fertilizer policy, India needs to work on four key areas Since 1991, when economic reforms began in India, several attempts have been made to reform the fertilizer sector to keep a check on the rising Fertilizer Subsidy bill, promote the efficient use of fertilizers, achieve balanced use of N, P, and K (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), and reduce water and air pollution...

Quite often it is argued by mainstream economists that a sizeable chunk of the Union Budget every year is wasted because the Government spends that on food and fertiliser subsidies. The burgeoning size of these two subsidies relative to the entire budget as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) is often used to build the argument that economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country is at stake...