India centre extends duration of new urea policy from 1st April till further notice

The Centre on 15th April 2019 decided to extend the duration of the New Urea Policy from 1st April this year till further notice ensuring smooth supply of nutrients to farmers of the country.

According to an official statement, "Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Department of fertilisers to extend the time span of New Urea Policy-2015 from 1st April, 2019 till further orders, barring the provisions which stand already modified vide notification dated 28 March 2018".

To recall, the energy norms of urea plants were amended in March 2018.

The extension of the policy would help in continuation of operations of urea plants and guarantee regular supply of urea to the cultivators.

The Union Cabinet in the year 2015 had approved a comprehensive ‘New Urea Policy-2015’ for the next 4 financial years. The policy was aimed at maximising home-grown urea production & promoting energy efficiency in urea units to lessen the subsidy burden on the government.

India imported approximately 59.75 lakh tonnes of urea in the fiscal year 2017-18 to meet the domestic demand. The country produces nearly 250 lakh tonnes of urea yearly.

The New Urea Policy-2015 or NUP-2015 was notified by the Department of Fertilizers on 25th May 2015 that was initially made effective from 1st June, 2015 till 31st March 2019.