The Centre has used Rs 4,933 crore as subsidy for fertilizers, April to July this year: Minister
According to information presented in parliament on Friday, the government has provided subsidies of Rs 493,298 crore, with subsidies for farmers purchasing fertilizers starting April 1 as of July 21 as of the current fiscal year (2025-26).
Under the DBT (Direct Income Transfer) system, 100% subsidies for various fertilizer grades are sold to farmers through actual sales of POS equipment installed in each retail store according to Aadhaar’s Aadhaar certification.
All farmers, including small and medium-sized farmers, provide fertilizers based on subsidized tax rates, said Anupriya Patel, Secretary of State of Chemistry and Fertilizer, in a written reply to the question in Lok Sabha.
These figures show that while Rs 34,947.52 crore has been subsidized as urea, Rs 14,382.36 crore has been provided as a subsidy for phosphoric acid and potassium fertilizers (P&K) fertilizers in the first four months.
Urea is provided to farmers at the maximum retail price (MRP) of the statutory notice.
The MRP of 45 kg urea bag is Rs 242 per bag (not applicable to the cost of EEM coating and tax). The difference between the cost of urea delivered by urea units at the farm door and net market realization is a subsidy for urea manufacturers or importers.
Therefore, all farmers provide urea at subsidized rates, the minister said. Regarding P&K fertilizer, the government has implemented a nutrition-based subsidy policy since April 1, 2010.
According to this policy, a fixed subsidy (annual decision) will be made based on its nutrient content.
According to this policy, MRP is determined by fertilizer companies at a reasonable level based on market dynamics. Therefore, the minister explained that any farmer who purchases these fertilizers will benefit from subsidies.
DBT systems require subsidies to fertilizer manufacturing/import companies (imported urea) based on the actual sales of retailers to beneficiaries through POS machines. The buyer’s identity is verified through Aadhaar-based identity verification.
Since there are no identified beneficiaries, fertilizer sales are being made under “not denial”. The minister added that any beneficiary of Aadhaar certification can purchase fertilizers based on Aadhaar’s identity verification, including poor and marginal farmers.
