The government’s fertilizer subsidy bill in FY24 is expected to fall 20-24% from the year before to ₹1.7-1.8 trillion because of lower international prices and smaller urea imports, said chemicals and fertilizer minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday.
In FY23, the Centre spent ₹2.25 trillion on fertilizer subsidies, as per revised estimates. The budgeted estimates for the ongoing fiscal year is ₹1.75 trillion. “The subsidy bill is estimated to be lower this year at around ₹1.7-1.8 trillion because of the fall in global prices. We have not increased retail prices to reduce subsidy,” Mandaviya said. “When the global rates skyrocketed in the last financial year, the government increased subsidy and kept the retail prices of urea, di ammonium phosphate and other fertilizers to protect farmers’ interest,” Mandaviya added. On the ongoing Red Sea tension, Mandaviya said that India has an adequate stock of fertilizers to meet requirements for the summer.
