India News | Mandaviya Stresses on Exploring Indigenous Raw Material Deposits to Boost Fertiliser Production

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday stressed on exploring indigenous deposits of phosphatic rock and potash to boost domestic production of crop nutrients like DAP and reduce dependence on imports.

The minister said the central government is ready with an action plan and will begin deliberations with the states having deposits of mineral resources used for making fertilisers.

Mandaviya was speaking at a meeting to assess the situation of raw materials in the country for the manufacturing of fertilisers, an official statement said.

To reduce import dependence and become self-sufficient, the minister said there is a need to focus on scaling up production of fertilisers through indigenous raw materials.

Currently, India is dependent on other countries for raw materials to produce Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Single Super Phosphate (SSP) fertilisers primarily.

"India of the 21st century needs to reduce its dependencies on import. In order to achieve that goal, we have to explore indigenous deposits of phosphatic rock and potash and make it available to indigenous industries to produce DAP, SSP, NPK and MOP to cater the needs of Indian farmers," he said.

Rock phosphate is the key raw material for DAP and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilisers. Currently, India is 90 per cent dependent on imports for this raw material. Volatility in international prices affects domestic prices of fertilisers.

Mandaviya underlined the importance of commercial exploration of phosphorite deposits. He called for taking all the necessary steps for ramping up the production in the existing 30 lakh MT of phosphorite deposits.

During the meeting, the minister also said India is committed to reducing dependency on fertiliser imports and to gain 'AatmaNirbharta' (self-sufficiency) in all fertilisers.

In order to achieve the goal of 'AatmaNirbharta' in fertiliser production, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers is working continuously and exploring newer avenues.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba, along with senior officials of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Ministry of Mines, Geological Survey of India, National Remote Sensing Centre and Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited.

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