The central government will spend Rs 1.08 trillion in subsidies during kharif 2023-24, which is almost 62 per cent of the Budget Estimates for financial year 2023-24 (FY24) of which around ______ is for urea, while the rest is for non-urea fertilisers till September.

Solution

To ensure that fertiliser prices remain unchanged for farmers, the Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 38,000-crore subsidy for non-urea fertilisers for the coming kharif season. In total, the central government will spend Rs 1.08 trillion in subsidies during kharif 2023-24, which is almost 62 per cent of the Budget Estimates for financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Of the Rs 1.08 trillion, around Rs 70,000 crore is for urea, while the rest is for non-urea fertilisers till September. For non-urea fertilizers in kharif 2023, a per kilogram subsidy of Rs 76 has been approved for nitrogen (down almost 22 per cent from the second half of FY23), Rs 41 per kg for phosphorus, Rs 15 per kg for potassium, and Rs 2 per kg for sulphur, a reduction of 67 per cent from the last revision.