The Centre has cut the subsidy for non-urea fertilizers this year to ₹22,186 crore. That is about 3% lower than the ₹22,875 crore which was the estimated expenditure on the nutrient based subsidies in 2019-20.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday decided to reduce the subsidy for nitrogen-based fertilizers to ₹18.78 per kg, for phosphorous-based fertilizers to ₹14.88 per kg, and set the subsidy for potash-based fertilizers at ₹10.11 per kg, according to an official statement. And while the subsidy for sulphur-based fertilisers had been raised last year to ₹ 3.56 per kg, from ₹2.72 per kg, this year it has been slashed to just ₹2.37 per kg.
The CCEA also approved the inclusion of a complex fertilizer, ammonium phosphate, under the nutrient-based subsidy scheme. The scheme was set up in 2010 to ensure the availability of phosphatic and potassic fertilizers to farmers at an affordable price, as the retail prices of such non-urea fertilisers are decontrolled and set by manufacturers.
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