On May 13, 2015, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers issued a press release on “Approval to comprehensive New Urea Policy, 2015” and “Nutrient Based Subsidy rates for Phosphate and Potash fertilizers for the year 2015-16”. A major announcement in the aforementioned release was “Movement plan for P&K fertilizers has also been freed to reduce monopoly of few companies in a particular area so that any company can sell any P&K fertilizer in any part of the country. Rail freight subsidy has been decided to be given on a lump sum basis so that companies economize on transport” When, seen in the backdrop of decontrol of all P&K fertilizers and subsidy abolition way...
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Category: New Pricing Scheme (NPS) for Urea
Go for course correction in urea pricing
The real reason for diversion of urea to industrial use, smuggling, black marketing and its excessive use is its ridiculously low selling price. On May 13, the government approved the Comprehensive New Urea Policy, which seeks to promote energy-efficiency, maximise indigenous urea production, and reduce subsidy burden on the budget. At present, under the New Pricing Scheme (NPS), in use since 2003, each of the 30 urea manufacturing units gets a retention price (or ex-factory price) based on the production cost specific to it. Since all of them are required to sell urea at ‘uniform’ controlled price which is lower, the difference is reimbursed as subsidy. NPS was designed as a group-based uniform pricing scheme, whereby each unit in a...
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HIGH COST OF POPULIST UREA POLICY
By keeping urea fertiliser prices artificially low, while non-urea fertilisers have been de-controlled, the Modi regime is encouraging an unhealthy dependence on this product, ignoring its smuggling and pilferage, and allowing the subsidy bill to increase The Union Government’s decision to freeze the maximum retail price of urea for four years is bewildering. The decision was taken on May 13 at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the past one-and-a-half decade or so, the MRP of urea, which has been under statutory control for close to six decades now, was not touched at all — except once in 2010, when it was increased by a meagre 10 per cent. This was despite the fact that...
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Urea price hike – put in deep freezer
A major decision taken by the government in the May 13, 2015 meeting of the Union Cabinet – chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi – was to keep maximum retail price (MRP) of urea frozen for a period of 4 years. This can throw any logical person in to a state of bewilderment! During the last one-and-a-half decade or so, urea MRP which is under statutory control [for close to six decades now] was not touched at all except once in 2010 when it was increased by a meagre 10%. This was despite inflationary forces gripping all other sectors and minimum support prices (MSP) of paddy, wheat and other cereals increasing manifold. The current MRP is ridiculously low at...
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New urea policy – rocks reforms boat
On May 13, 2015, the government approved a so called ‘Comprehensive new urea policy’ which seeks to (i) promote energy efficiency; (ii) maximize indigenous urea production and (iii) reduce subsidy burden on the budget. At present, under the new pricing scheme (NPS) in vogue since 2003, each of the 30 urea manufacturing units gets a retention price (or ex-factory price) based on production cost specific to it. Since, all of them are required to sell urea at ‘uniform’ controlled price which is lower, the difference is reimbursed as subsidy. Initially, NPS was designed as a group-based uniform pricing scheme whereby each unit in a given group [6 groups were carved out depending on feedstock and vintage based on recommendation of...
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Uniform gas pricing – precursor to full-fledged urea reforms?
In the CCEA (cabinet committee on economic affairs) meeting on March 31, 2015, the government decided on a uniform gas pricing policy and pooling of domestic and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) for urea plants. Under it, gas will be supplied at ‘uniform’ delivered price to all urea plants on gas grid through a pooling mechanism. What do these announcements have in store for the industry? Does it mean Modi – dispensation has finally got cracking on big bang reforms in fertilizers after a 10 month wait and 2 full-fledged budgets? Currently, there are a total of 30 urea producing units in India. Of these, 27 are based on gas which is considered to be the most energy efficient and...
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Fertilizer subsidy – direct transfer ‘miles away’
Those of us expecting big bang announcement in budget for 2015-16 in regard to fertilizer reforms may have been disappointed. The budget for 2014-15 had mentioned that the government would set up an Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) on rationalizing subsidies. ERC under Dr Bimal Jalan ex-governor, RBI submitted its interim report about a month back which heightened the possibility of major initiatives being taken in this budget. Yet, in his speech, finance minister maintained a stout silence. Are we then to conclude that government has missed an opportunity to reform the sector yet again? Such a conclusion may be a bit premature if one were to take a cue from post-budget briefing of Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), Arvind Subramanian and...
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Lift the veil on subsidies
In his maiden budget for 2014-15 presented on July 10, 2014, finance minister, Arun Jaitely had announced setting up of an expenditure management commission (EMC) to recommend a road- map up for rationalizing and phasing out major subsidies. As a follow up, on September 4, the government constituted the EMC under chairmanship of Dr Bimal Jalan. The commission’s mandate puts under scanner government’s spending on all its programmes and schemes, procurement from defence to office items besides the methodology for counting receipts and expenditure. It is expected to recommend measures for utilization of allocated funds in the most cost effective manner. While addressing the just concluded ET Global Business Summit, Jaitely informed that the recommendations of the commission made in...
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DE-CONTROLLING UREA PRODUCTION
Removing the archaic ceiling on urea prices, which is a political sop to secure votebanks, will energise domestic production. This, in turn, will ensure consistent supply and also lessen the public’s subsidy burden India was able to import only about 9,00,000 tonnes of urea between April and November, 2014, which was 16 per cent less than what was imported during the same period in 2013. This put tremendous pressure on local markets. The problem was aggravated by a drop in supply from the Oman India Fertiliser Company SAOG. At home, three naphtha-fed urea production plants viz, Madras Fertilisers Limited, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, and Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation, also had to stop production after the Government decided to suspend subsidy payments....
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Urea ‘black-marketing’ – tackle the root cause
During April–November, 2014, urea imports were 900,000 tons (16 percent) less when compared to corresponding period in 2013. The shortfall was aggravated by drop in supplies from OMIFCO (Oman-India Fertilizer Company) – a joint venture between IFFCO, KRIBHCO and Oman Oil Company (OOC) – with whom India has a long-term off-take agreement. This together with shortfall in domestic production (3 naphtha-based plants viz., Madras Fertilizers; Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers and Southern Petrochemicals Industries had stopped producing due to government’s decision to suspend subsidy payments) led to aggravation of imbalance in the demand–supply in the run up to Rabi season (October, 14 to March, 15). The result was proliferation of black-marketing especially in northern and eastern parts with urea selling at over...
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