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Govt to brand fertiliser subsidy as PM scheme
According to the notification, which contained standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fertilizer firms, the branding of subsidized fertilisers will have the words “Pradhanmantri” (Hindi for prime minister) and “Bharat”.
The Union government has decided to brand the Centre’s fertilizer subsidy programme as a prime minister’s scheme, naming it as the “Pradhanmantri Bharatiya Janurvarak Pariyojana”, according to a notification by the fertilisers ministry on Wednesday, which HT has seen.
Packaging bags of various crop nutrients bought by millions of farmers across the country will also have a uniform new logo and design, according to the notification. Fertiliser companies will have to display the programme’s new name prominently in their packaging.
Under the federally subsidized programme, the Union government reimburses fertilizer companies for selling their products to cultivators at lower-than-market prices.
This subsidy stood ₹1.62 lakh crore in 2021-22 and is projected to touch a record ₹2.50 lakh crore in 2022-23 due to spiralling international prices. India depends on imports to meet domestic demand for a bulk of key crop nutrients, such as DAP.
According to the notification, which contained standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fertilizer firms, the branding of subsidized fertilisers will have the words “Pradhanmantri” (Hindi for prime minister) and “Bharat”.
Two-thirds of the area on the top half of a fertilizer bag will be used for the official branding of the subsidy programme as a prime minister’s scheme, according to new packaging standards. A fertilizer firm can use the rest one-third area for its own logo and branding as well as printing other information relating to the product, the notification said.
“The single brand name for urea, DAP, MoP and NPKs etc would be Bharat Urea, Bharat DAP, Bharat MoP and Bharat NPK etc, respectively for all fertilizer companies, state trading entities (STEs) and fertilizer marketing entities,” the notification states. It further adds: “A logo indicating fertilizer subsidy scheme namely Pradhanmantri Bharatiya Janurvarak Pariyojana will be used on said fertilizer bags.”
The new fertilizer subsidy regime will also be known as “One Nation One Fertilisers (sic)”, according to notification. Crop-nutrient firms will have a lead time till December 31 to exhaust all old packaging bags.
The notification issued on Wednesday includes detailed SOPs and sample designs of new packaging bags for various fertilisers such as urea, DAP and MoP.
“New bags will hit the market in October and the lead time should be sufficient to make the switch,” a fertilizer company executive said, requesting anonymity.
India, the world’s largest buyer of urea and di-ammonium phosphate, has been hit by a sharp rise in global fertiliser prices due to supply disruptions. Costlier raw materials, higher freight charges as well as tighter coal and natural gas supplies due to the Ukraine war are likely to keep fertiliser prices elevated this year.
The Union government has already raised fertiliser subsidies twice this fiscal year.
For the ongoing June-September kharif or summer-sown season, the government approved a subsidy of ₹60,939.23 crore including support for indigenous fertilizers and freight subsidy.
