PM to inaugurate T’gana urea plant

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on November 12 a plant of Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd in Telangana that is expected to add 1.2 million tonne of indigenous urea production capacity as part of a plan to cut dependency on imports in four years, said an official familiar with the matter.

India is hoping to end its reliance on imported urea within the next four years by expanding output of a locally developed version of the key crop nutrient, known as nano urea, the official said asking not to be named.

Self-sufficiency in urea will save the government nearly ₹40,000 crore, the official added.

The country’s food security is closely linked to sufficient availability of a range of fertilisers.

India, the world’s largest buyer of urea and di-ammonium phosphate, has been hit by a sharp rise in global fertiliser prices this year due to supply disruptions.

Higher domestic output of conventional urea plus indigenously developed nano urea will be sufficient to replace the entire imported quantity of urea, according to the Mansukh-mandaviya-headed ministry of chemicals and fertilizers.

According to the ministry’s calculations, domestically produced nano urea will replace approximately 20 million tonne of conventional urea imports each year. Nano urea is a locally developed highly efficient form of the plant nutrient.

Eight new nano urea plants in several states, including Karnataka, UP and Assam, will start production by November 2025, according to the official.

Six upcoming conventional urea plants with a capacity of about 1.3 million tonne each will also help to achieve the self-sufficiency milestone by 20242025. These will be commissioned this year at Barauni (Bihar) and Sindhri (Jharkhand), said the official.