Fertilizer Subsidy
Cabinet approves Rs 1.08 trillion subsidy for Kharif crop fertilizer
New Delhi: India's fertilizer subsidy bill for the current financial year is expected to exceed the budgeted amount of Rs 1.75 trillion by Rs 50,000 crore, reaching Rs 2.25 trillion, Chemical and Fertilizers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday.
During the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a subsidy of Rs 1.08 trillion for the kharif season in 2023-24 as part of the overall fertilizer subsidy was approved.
This comes after the Union budget for 2023-24 reduced the fertilizer subsidy to Rs 1.75 trillion from the previous year's revised estimates of Rs 2.25 trillion.
Specifically, the Cabinet approved Rs 38,000 crore for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizer subsidy, bringing the total fertilizer subsidy for the kharif season in 2023-24 (April-September) to Rs 1.08 trillion.
This includes the previously allocated Rs 70,000 crore for urea subsidy in the Budget for the kharif season.
“A total of Rs1.08 trillion will be spent on fertilizer subsidy for the Kharif season (April-September)," he said after the cabinet meeting.
Currently, the price of urea stands at Rs 276 per bag, while Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is priced at Rs 1,350 per bag.
The approved subsidy is expected to provide benefits to approximately 120 million farmers.
“The situation in 2022-23 was such that fertilizer subsidy had to be increased sharply due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine," Mandaviya said.
The government had ensured rising global fertilizer prices did not hurt India’s farmers, he added.
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