Govt approves subsidy of Rs 22,000 crore for rabi

New Delhi: In a big relief to the farmers in the country, the Centre on Wednesday approved over Rs.22,000 crore subsidy on the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers in the current rabi season. Besides, it also announced that the farmers would continue to get key soil nutrient di-ammonium phosphate or DAP at Rs1,350 per bag.

Announcing the decision, Information Minister Anurag Thakur said,  that the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal of the Department of fertilizers for fixing the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) rates for the rabi season from October 1 to March 31, 2024) on P&K fertilisers. “We estimate an expenditure of Rs22,303 crore as subsidy on fertilisers for rabi season of 2023-24,” he said.

In May this year, the government approved a subsidy of Rs38,000 crore on P&K fertilisers for the kharif season of 2023-24. “Farmers will continue to get DAP at Rs1,350 per bag (50 kg each). Similarly, the nitrogen, phosphorus  and potash (NPK ) will be available at Rs1,470 per bag and single super phosphate (SSP ) at around Rs 500 per bag, while the muriate of potash or MoP rates will come down to Rs 1,655 per bag from '1,700 per bag,” Thakur said.

The Cabinet has fixed the NBS rate of nitrogen (N) at '47.02 per kg, phosphorus (P) at '20.82 per kg, potash (K) at '2.38 per kg and sulphur (S) at '1.89 per kg. For the kharif season of 2023-24, the government had a fixed per kg subsidy rate on N at Rs.76 per kg, Rs.41 per kg on P, Rs.15 per kg on K, and Rs.2.8 per kg on S.

Thakur said the international prices of finished products and raw materials have come down slightly, but it is still high, and therefore, the government is providing subsidies to maintain the old rate. “The fertilisers subsidy stood at nearly Rs.2.55 lakh crore in the last fiscal as against around Rs.73,000 crore in 2014-15,” he said.

In addition, the government also approved the inclusion of the Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project of Uttarakhand under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP), which will cost Rs.2,584 crore.

“The central support of Rs1,557.18 crore will be provided to Uttarakhand for completion of the project. It is scheduled to be completed by March 2028, Thakur said.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet was apprised of a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) signed in July this year between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India and the Ministry of Economy, trade and Industry of Japan on Japan-India semiconductor supply chain partnership.

The MoC intends to strengthen cooperation between India and Japan towards the enhancement of the semiconductor supply chain, recognising the importance of semiconductors for the advancement of industries and digital technologies.