ONE NATION ONE FERTILIZER: Prime Minister launched ‘One Nation One Fertilizer’ scheme known as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Januruak Pariyojana (PMBJP). Under this scheme fertilizer throughout the country will be made available under ‘Bharat’ brand name and logo.
This scheme will apply to both public and private sector, manufacturing fertilizers.
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| CATEGORY | BRAND NAME |
| Urea | BHARAT UREA |
| Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) | BHARAT DAP |
| Muriate of Potash (MOP) | BHARAT MOP |
| Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium (NPK) | BHARAT NPK |
With the launch of this scheme, India will have a common bag design across the country like Bharat urea, Bharat DAP, Bharat MOP, Bharat NPK, and so on.
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Advantages of the Scheme
Lower transportation cost
Government gives huge amount as subsidy to fertilizer manufacturing companies in India not only for manufacturing but also on logistics and transportation of fertilizers from one state to another. It has been found that due to certain brand preferences it has resulted in fertilizer-supply delays to farmers and an extra burden on the exchequer due to increased freight subsidies needing to be paid for the long-distance crisscross movement of fertilizers.
By unification of brands, a farmer will be able to buy fertilizer nearest to their place which will lower the transportation cost.
Refocus on R&D
Companies spending huge sum of money on branding and advertising will now be able to spend the same amount of money on R&D, for enhancing the quality of fertilizer. Spending money on branding increases the total production cost, for which government had to pay in the form of subsidy.
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End confusion among farmers
Under Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), fertilizers must have specific nutrient content which is pre-decided. DAP fertilizers must have 18% nitrogen and 46% phosphorus content. Due to this notified specification of content, there is no major difference among different brands. This will end all kind of confusion and a farmer can get hold of fertilizer at the right time and right place at a low cost.
Tackle the huge import problem
India has one of the largest area under farming in the world which automatically increases the consumption of fertilizer. India used to import major portion of fertilizer. With this scheme, government will be able to identify areas where foreign made fertilizer is being used and extra measures will be taken to promote the use of Bharat brand fertilizer.
Possible Drawbacks:
Fertiliser companies will be disincentivize from undertaking marketing and brand promotion activities.
They will now be reduced to contract manufacturers and importers for the government.
Currently, in case of any bag or batch of fertilisers not meeting the required standards, the blame is put on the company. But now, that may be passed on fully to the government.
Conclusion
- The main objective of the government is to reduce the government expenditure on subsidy for transportation of fertiliser, which is in the range of 6000 crore to 9000 crore.
- Definitely this will save the exchequer’s money from being misused.
- The farmers will get assured timely supply of good quality fertilizers.
- Now a big responsibility will lie on the government’s shoulder to monitor and quality check of the fertilizer, as the country is still an agrarian economy.