Amid a sharp increase in global prices of fertilizers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will provide an additional fertiliser subsidy of ₹1.10 lakh crore to further cushion farmers from the price rise.
With this, the government's total fertilizer subsidy is likely to touch a record ₹2.15 lakh crore in the current 2022-23 fiscal.
"Despite rising fertilizer prices globally, we have protected our farmers from such price hikes. In addition to the fertiliser subsidy of ₹1.05 lakh crore in the Budget, an additional amount of ₹1.10 lakh crore is being provided to further cushion our farmers," Ms. Sitharaman tweeted.
The fertilizer subsidy bill was estimated at ₹1.05 lakh crore in the 2022-23 Budget. It stood at ₹1,62,132 crore in 2021-22.
Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had recently said the total fertilizer subsidy bill could be between ₹2-2.5 lakh crore in the current fiscal due to a sharp rise in global prices.
India imports urea, potassic and phosphatic fertilisers, while global fertilizer prices have risen due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
