New Delhi, Mar 13: Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that India currently holds a record fertilizer stock of 163 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) for April, marking a 26 percent increase over last year’s stock of 128.54 LMT.
Addressing the House during discussions on the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the 2025–26 Budget, Sitharaman said the increase in fertilizer reserves reflects the government’s planning to ensure adequate availability for the upcoming agricultural seasons.
The Finance Minister said that while the country already has sufficient fertilizer stocks for the Kharif season, the government is also making advance preparations to ensure smooth supply during the Rabi season.
She informed Parliament that the government has allocated an additional ₹19,000 crore for fertilizer subsidies through the supplementary demands, taking the total subsidy expenditure beyond the original budget estimates. The additional allocation, she said, is aimed at maintaining stable supplies for farmers and strengthening agricultural production.
Highlighting the growth in domestic fertilizer manufacturing, Sitharaman said domestic urea production has increased significantly, rising from 225 LMT in 2014–15 to 306.67 LMT in 2024–25.
The minister said the government has operationalized six new fertilizer production units under the New Investment Policy launched by Narendra Modi. Each unit has an average annual capacity of 12.7 LMT, together adding 76.2 LMT to the country’s urea production capacity.
In addition, two new fertilizer plants are being developed in Odisha and Assam under the 2015 New Urea Policy. Once operational, these plants are expected to add 25.4 LMT annually to the country’s production capacity.
Sitharaman said the government is also working on expanding the capacity of existing fertilizer plants to meet the growing needs of India’s agriculture sector and move towards greater self-reliance in fertilizer production.
