'One nation, one fertiliser' plan launched under 'Bharat' brand

Shubhadeep Choudhury

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New Delhi, October 17

The “one nation, one fertiliser” scheme would make quality fertiliser available to farmers at a reduced price, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after launching the scheme at the inaugural function of the two-day “Kisan Samman Sammelan” at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) here today.

“You are aware of the crisis that prevailed in the fertiliser sector before 2014. Farmers will never forget the time when urea used to be sold on the black market and they faced police lathis for demanding what was legitimately their due,” he said.

“Now, urea will be available under the same name, same brand and same quality, and that brand is Bharat,” said PM Modi.

The Prime Minister also accused previous governments of not taking an initiative to reopen public sector factories that manufactured urea.

“Importing urea enriched a certain section of people. They were happy with the closure of factories producing urea,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister noted that selling urea on the black market was stopped by introducing measures such as neem-coated urea. “We worked hard for restarting six large urea-manufacturing plants that were shut down long ago. Soon, we will introduce liquid nano urea which will help us attain self-sufficiency in meeting the demand,” he said.

The Prime Minister further said nano urea would help farmers enhance income as investment on account of fertiliser would reduce.

“A small bottle of nano urea is equivalent to a bag of traditional urea,” he said, adding nano urea would give relief to farmers from the painstaking process related to carriage and storage of traditional urea.

Outlining another new measure rolled out to reform the fertiliser sector, the Prime Minister said a drive had been launched to develop more than 3.25 lakh fertiliser shops across the country.

These will be called the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras, where fertilisers and seeds will be sold. Farmers can also get soil tested and avail information about farming techniques at the kendras.

The Prime Minister also launched ‘Indian Edge’, an e-magazine on fertiliser, during the event.

He also released the 12th instalment of Rs 16,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through the direct benefit transfer to more than eight crore farmers.

Under the PM-KISAN, eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months.

Health cards distributed in Guj

• PM Modi on Monday kick-started the distribution of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) in election-bound Gujarat
• “The world is talking about health insurance, while India is giving health assurance,” he said in a virtual address at a function to distribute the PMJAY-MA cards
• “The Ayushman Yojana is aimed at ‘health for all’. An Ayushman card is like a Rs 5 lakh annual ATM,” PM Modi added. TNS

Hits out at previous govts

There was a crisis in the fertiliser sector before 2014. Farmers will never forget the time when urea used to be sold on the black market and they faced police lathis for demanding their due. — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister