Govt hikes DAP subsidy to ₹1,200 per bag

Our Bureau Updated - May 19, 2021 at 08:42 PM.

To shell out additional ₹14,775 crore towards subsidy.

A farm worker mixing fertilizer for application to crop at a field near Kochi, Kerala. An authentic and updated awareness of the use of fertilizer and its promotion in order to increase crop yields has always been a major objective of the farmers . The use of fertilisers in India has shot up in the last 60 years, resulting in deterioration of soil health in many parts of the country and depletion of soil resources ,resulting in barren patches of land sprouting across the country. Photo:K_K_Mustafah.30/03/2011

The government on Wednesday decided to increase the subsidy available on Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) to ₹1,200 from the existing ₹500 to protect farmers from the increase in fertiliser prices.

Recently, the international prices of phosphoric acid, ammonia etc. used in DAP have gone up by 60-70 per cent. As a result, the actual cost of a DAP bag would have gone up to ₹2,400 from ₹1,700 last year.

A high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, however, decided to increase the subsidy on DAP to ₹1,200 per bag from the existing ₹500 so that farmers would continue to get DAP at a price of ₹1,200 per bag. As a result, the government, which spends ₹80,000 crore in fertiliser subsidies annually, will have to shell out an additional ₹14,775 crore for the coming Kharif season alone.

Published on May 19, 2021 15:11