Why government is looking to issue faster approvals for new fertilisers

📌 Summary:

• The Centre''s 2026-27 fertiliser subsidy bill is set to touch ~Rs 3,40,000 crore — far above the budgeted Rs 1,70,799 crore and the previous record of Rs 2,51,339 crore (2022-23); amid this, it wants to liberalise approvals for non-subsidised crop nutrients
• Current rule: no new fertiliser can be sold without registration under the Fertiliser (Control) Order (FCO), 1985 — requiring a dossier (composition, production, safety) plus bio-efficacy field trials over at least two cropping seasons via ICAR institutes/state agricultural universities, then Central Fertiliser Committee approval
• The problem: registration takes 800+ days in India vs 90 (US), 30 (EU/Japan), 20 (Australia), 15 (Vietnam) — slowing the launch of new products
• Proposed reform: exempt fertilisers "meeting established quality and safety standards" from mandatory field trials; in-principle agreement reached, to be finalised after ICAR/industry/state consultations
• Industry view (Yara): approve automatically if a product meets a minimum total-plant-nutrient content and a maximum heavy-metal/contaminant limit, with label claims open to post-market surveillance
• Focus is on water-soluble/specialty fertilisers (e.g., NPK blends with secondary and micro-nutrients) — more efficient than urea (46% N) or DAP — supporting balanced nutrition and reducing reliance on heavily subsidised urea

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Economy/Agriculture — fertiliser subsidy burden, ease of doing business, balanced nutrient use, and farm input regulation.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• New fertilisers are registered under the Fertiliser (Control) Order (FCO), 1985
• Bio-efficacy trials are run via ICAR institutes and state agricultural universities; approval by the Central Fertiliser Committee
• Urea contains 46% nitrogen; DAP contains 46% P and 18% N
• 2026-27 subsidy bill projected ~Rs 3.4 lakh crore (prior record Rs 2.51 lakh crore in 2022-23)

🔑 Key Term: Water-Soluble/Specialty Fertilisers — fully soluble nutrient blends (varying NPK plus secondary/micro-nutrients) enabling precise, stage-wise crop nutrition.