Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers Report on 12-Year Transformation
The Department of Fertilizers has published a comprehensive report detailing India's progress toward fertilizer self-reliance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership over the past 12 years. The document highlights the government's successful efforts to insulate Indian farmers from global market disruptions caused by geopolitical conflicts in West Asia, which led to skyrocketing prices, acute natural gas shortages, and heavily delayed shipping lines.
Production Achievements and Capacity Expansion
Since 2014, India has established six new mega urea plants adding 76.2 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of annual capacity, with two additional plants totaling 25.4 LMT capacity set to commence production shortly. Domestic urea production surged from 225 LMT in 2014-15 to a record 314.07 LMT in 2023-24, with production remaining strong at 306.67 LMT in 2024-25. Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizer manufacturing similarly reached a historic high of 211.22 LMT in 2024-25, significantly up from 159.54 LMT in 2014-15, with both public and private sectors continuing to construct state-of-the-art P&K production plants.
Strategic Buffer Stock and Crisis Management
For the upcoming Kharif 2026 season, India maintains an unprecedented opening stock of approximately 200.98 LMT against a projected total requirement of 383.9 LMT reassessed by DA&FW, representing over 51% advance availability far exceeding the traditional buffer standard of 33%. The current stock stands at 195.79 LMT. To address shipping delays around the Strait of Hormuz, the government rapidly explored alternative transit routes and engaged diplomatic channels to source materials directly from global producers. Under PM Modi's direct guidance, seven Empowered Groups of Secretaries were constituted with the Fertilizer Secretary leading 10 high-level reviews, ensuring seamless inter-ministerial synergy and solving domestic natural gas supply issues in coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Domestic post-crisis production stood at 118.15 LMT, and when combined with strategic imports and successfully concluded joint global tenders, the total post-crisis fertilizer availability witnessed a net addition of 153.79 LMT.
Price Insulation and Subsidy Structure
The government has absorbed international inflationary shocks to protect farmers, maintaining retail prices without increase despite global price surges. Urea is provided to Indian farmers at ₹266.5 per 45-kg bag against global market prices exceeding ₹4100 per bag, while DAP is available at ₹1,350 per 50-kg bag compared to global prices commanding over ₹5,000.
Transition to Sustainable Agriculture
From March to May, a massive nationwide mass-awareness campaign was executed to protect soil health and optimize nutrient balance. Farmers responded with overwhelming enthusiasm, resulting in combined sales of eco-friendly alternatives including Fortified Organic Manure (FOM), Liquid FOM (LFOM), and Phosphate-Rich Organic Manure (PROM) reaching seven times the volume in Financial Year 2025-26 compared to 2024-25. Ammonium Sulphate consumption surged by nearly 60,000 tonnes, and green manuring was introduced across a record 1.84 lakh hectares under the technical guidance of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
The report concludes that India's fertilizer security remains strong, stable, and well-managed with availability consistently exceeding requirements across all major fertilizers, ensuring reliable access to essential fertilizers at highly affordable and subsidized rates.