Centre hikes fertilizer subsidy

On May 19, after a meeting on fertilizer prices hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the federal government decided to increase this year’s fertilizer subsidy expenditure by 14,775 crore.

This will increase the fertilizer subsidy expenditure in 2021-22 from the budgeted expenditure of Rs 79,530 crore to Rs 94,305 crore. “Some people have discussed that the price of chemical fertilizers is rising due to the rising international prices of phosphoric acid and ammonia.

The Prime Minister emphasized that despite the rising international prices, farmers should still obtain chemical fertilizers at the old prices. It added that it has decided to increase the subsidy for diammonium phosphate fertilizer from 500 rupees per bag to 1,200 rupees, an increase of 140%. “Therefore, despite the increase in the international market price of DAP, it has been decided to continue selling it at the old price of Rs 1,200, and the central government has decided to bear the burden of all price increases,”