Government unveils plan to boost fertiliser output

The Indian Government has taken up a broad plan to upgrade the country’s fertiliser manufacturing capacity.The strategy involves a revival of four closed fertiliser plants, namely Talcher, Ramagundam, Gorakhpur and Sindri, operated by Fertilizer Corp of India Ltd (FCIL) and the Barauni plant of Hindustan Fertilizer Corp Ltd (HFCL). The plan will employ the latest technology to set up new ammonia-urea plants with annual production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes each.

The plan was announced by Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, India’s Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning and Minister of State for the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on December 19th. The project will support the nation’s growing chemicals industry while considerably reducing fertiliser imports. Following the start of the new plants, India’s annual urea production will increase by 7.2 million tonnes.

The additional capacity is backed by the Government’s prior plans to set up a new ammonia-urea complex with annual capacity of 864,600 tonnes at Namrup in Assam, within the existing premises of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corp Ltd (BVFCL). The new capacity, including contribution from other under construction projects, will bridge the gap between demand and supply of urea in the country, and will rejuvenate the fertiliser sector, Mr Singh told the Parliament.

The recent developments in India’s fertiliser sector offers attractive opportunities for foreign investors amid promises of strong demand owing to rising domestic consumption as well as India’s increasing export trade. The country produced around 45 million tonnes of fertilisers during the financial year 2016-17.This production has steadily risen facilitated by favourable Government policies, improving operational economics as well as new sciences and technologies.