The fertiliser ministry may seek more funds from the finance ministry to meet its subsidy obligations as it needs more than the allocated amount to take care of the rising subsidy bill, a top official said.  "We have already received 17,700 crore in addition to the budgetary allocation of around 50,000 crore. But we still need more funds, and the amount will be finalised in consultation with the finance ministry," said...

Says milk adulterated but not unsafe for consumption Six states and a union territory feed their people milk that does not meet the standards set by India’s food regulatory body at all. Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Daman & Diu are the “100 per cent non-conforming” states. In Delhi, 70 per cent of the samples failed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) test. Yet, the...

-The Times of India   West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s request for increased supply of Urea as prices of nutrient based fertilizers are increasing has highlighted the challenges the Centre’s bid to reduce Urea use and promote a more balanced product mix faces.  Arguing that farmers should not be asked to purchase costlier nutrient-based NPK (nitrogen, phosporus and potassium) fertilizer, Banerjee has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for more Urea for the...

The government plans to raise prices of Urea, the most widely consumed fertiliser in the country, by a steep 40%. The move, necessitated by the government's mounting subsidy burden, is a test of its political courage as it comes just ahead of elections in five states.  Farmers in India use about 28 million tonne of Urea annually, of which 6-8 million tonne is imported. The uptrend in prices of imported Urea...

-Reuters Ministry for Chemicals and Fertilisers has no plans to raise prices of Urea, the most widely used soil nutrient in the country, two ministry sources said. Two newspapers reported on Monday that the government planned to increase prices of Urea by 40 per cent to reduce a mounting subsidy burden. "There is no proposal to raise prices of Urea," a ministry source told reporters. Another ministry source said: "The Urea prices were revised...