On fertiliser, Centre and states must align policy

📌 Summary:

• Context: PM Modi wants 25-50% cut in farmer chemical fertiliser use (to conserve forex + protect soil fertility). Yet UP, MP, Maharashtra (with more states likely to follow) have decreed that subsidised fertiliser (urea, DAP) manufacturers/suppliers cannot sell non-subsidised nutrient products — directly contradicting Centre's objective
• Core argument: Centre and states are working at cross-purposes; ease of doing business in fertiliser sector going into reverse
• What's being banned in those states: bio fertilisers, nano fertilisers, water-soluble and liquid speciality fertilisers, micronutrients, bio-stimulants — all non-subsidised products produced by Iffco, Coromandel International, Yara Fertilisers
• Causal chain — why ban is counterproductive: (1) Non-subsidised products are applied in low doses for high-value crops (grapes, apple, pomegranate) (2) Already notified under Centre's Fertiliser Control Order after ICAR field trials for bio-efficacy + toxicology (3) These products deliver nutrients more efficiently (drip irrigation root zone or foliar application) (4) Banning them removes incentive for companies to innovate (5) Forces farmers to keep using urea/DAP — whose nutrients are prone to volatilisation, leaching, soil-locking → wasteful and environmentally damaging
• India's vulnerability (Key data): (1) Overwhelmingly import-dependent on fertilisers (2) 2025-26 fertiliser input/product imports: ~$27.2 billion (3) West Asia conflict + closure of Strait of Hormuz could push bill past 2022-23 record of $33.4 billion (post Russia-Ukraine invasion)
• Solution proposed: Transform current product-specific fertiliser subsidy regime into expanded PM-KISAN 2.0 direct income support; allow market-determined fertiliser prices; guarantee farmers minimum income per acre per crop → farmers will use right nutrients in right quantities
• Bottom line: Centre must crack down on states sending contrary signals to industry and farmers

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — Federalism (Centre-state policy coherence); GS3 — Agriculture (subsidies, soil health, fertiliser policy reform); fiscal management of subsidies; ease of doing business.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• States with bans: UP, MP, Maharashtra
• Subsidised fertilisers (under control): urea, DAP
• Fertiliser Control Order regulates approval; ICAR conducts field trials
• 2025-26 fertiliser imports: ~$27.2 billion; 2022-23 high: $33.4 billion
• Companies impacted: Iffco, Coromandel International, Yara Fertilisers
• PM-KISAN — Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi — direct income support

🔑 Key Term: PM-KISAN 2.0 — Editorial-proposed expansion of existing PM-KISAN scheme into a per-acre, per-crop minimum income guarantee replacing product-specific fertiliser subsidies; aims to let market signal nutrient choice while shielding farmer incomes from input cost shocks.