Nod to Rs 3.7 lakh-crore farm plan with ‘go organic’ message

Nod to Rs 3.7 lakh-crore farm plan with ‘go organic’ message

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a new scheme, PM-PRANAM, to incentivise states to promote alternative fertilisers and reduce the use of chemical fertilisers and decided to continue urea subsidy till March 2025, with an outlay of Rs 3.68 lakh crore.

The CCEA, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, also approved an outlay of Rs 1,451 crore to promote organic manure, taking the total package to over Rs 3.70 lakh crore. It also decided to introduce sulphur-coated urea (gold urea) for the first time to address sulphur deficiency in soil.

Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) was aimed at saving soil and promoting sustainable balanced use of fertilisers.

Under the scheme, the states adopting alternative fertilisers will be incentivised with the subsidy saved by reducing the use of chemical fertilisers. “For instance, if a state is using 10 lakh tonnes of conventional fertiliser, and if it reduces its consumption by 3 lakh tonnes, the subsidy saving would be Rs 3,000 crore. Of that, the Centre will give 50% of it — Rs 1,500 crore — to the state for promoting the use of alternative fertiliser,” he said.

To boost the production and use of bio-manure, the Union Government has decided to provide Rs 1,500 per quintal for bio-manure produced from biogas and compressed biogas plants — under the Gobardhan initiative. This is the second scheme launched by the Centre to push farmers towards alternative fertilisers. For this, Rs 1451.84 crore has been earmarked for three years.

The Centre at present gives Rs 2,126 subsidy on each bag of urea and Rs 2,461 on each bag of DAP.