Govt hikes subsidy on DAP fertiliser by 140% to ₹1,200 per bag
1 min read 19 May 2021, 08:12 PM ISTPM Modi decided to increase the subsidy for DAP fertiliser from ₹500 per bag to ₹1200 per bag, which is an increase of 140%
PremiumPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting on the issue of fertiliser prices. The Prime Minister stressed that farmers should get fertilisers at old rates despite the international rise in prices.
In the meeting, it was discussed that the price of fertilisers is undergoing an increase due to the rising prices of phosphoric acid, ammonia, etc internationally.
PM Modi decided to increase the subsidy for DAP fertiliser from ₹500 per bag to ₹1200 per bag, which is an increase of 140%.
Despite the rise in international market prices of DAP, it has been decided to continue selling it at the older price of Rs1200 and the central government has decided to bear all the burden of the price hike, a government statement read.
Last year, the actual price of DAP was ₹1,700 per bag. In which the Central Government was giving a subsidy of ₹500 per bag. So the companies were selling fertiliser to farmers for ₹1,200 per bag, it added.
Recently, the international prices of phosphoric acid, ammonia, etc. used in DAP have gone up by 60% to 70%. So the actual price of a DAP bag is now ₹2,400, which could be sold by fertiliser companies at ₹1,900 after considering a subsidy of ₹500. With today's decision, farmers will continue to get a DAP bag for ₹1200.
PM Modi said that his government is committed to the welfare of farmers and will make all efforts to ensure that farmers do not have to face the brunt of price-rise.
The Central Government spends about ₹80,000 crore on subsidies for chemical fertilisers every year. With the increase in subsidy in DAP, the government will spend an additional ₹14,775 crore as subsidy in Kharif season.
This is the second major decision in the farmers' interest, after directly transferring ₹20,667 crore in farmers' accounts under PM-KISAN on the day of Akshay Tritiya.
