Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers approved 100 percent production of Neem-Coated Urea

The Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on 7 January 2015 allowed fertiliser firms to produce 100 percent Neem-Coated Urea. The decision is aimed at boosting income of the farmers and reducing subsidy bill by up to 6500 crore rupees.

Neem coated urea
• Neem coated urea also works as insecticide and it costs 5 percent more than the cost of normal urea which is about 260 rupees per tonne.
• The use of Neem coated urea will not only increase crop yields but also lower input cost of the farmers.
• It will also reduce imports of precious fertilizers as well as reduce ground and soil pollution.
• It reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10 percent thereby gaining a net savings of 13.5 rupees per bag for farmers.

Background
India produces about 22 million tonnes of urea and imports about 8-9 million tonnes to meet the shortfall. About 20-25 percent of indigenous urea is neem-coated.

Earlier, production of neem-coated urea was allowed only up to 35 percent of the total capacity of the plant. But the removal of this 35 percent cap will help India to become self-sufficient in urea in next five years.