Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a new scheme – Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana – One Nation One Fertiliser – on October 17, 2022. Under the scheme, it is compulsory for companies to market all subsidized fertilizers under a single brand ‘Bharat’.
Prime Minister Modi launched the single brand Bharat under the scheme during the two-day event PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chemicals & Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya were also present at the event.
One Nation One Fertilizer: Significance
- Farmers will get quality crop nutrients at low cost under the ‘One nation, One fertilizer’.
- Introduction of nano urea to ease farm process; one bottle of nano urea can replace a sackful of urea.
- The scheme is introduced to prevent the criss-cross movement of fertilizers and reduce high freight subsidies.
- All subsidized soil nutrients including urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP), and NPK – will be marketed under the single brand Bharat across the nation.
PM-Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PM-KSK)
- PM Modi also inaugurated 600 ‘PM-Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PM-KSK) at the event.
- The Kendra will behave as one- a stop-shop that would provide multiple services to farmers.
- PM-KSK will not only supply agri-inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and farm implements but also provide testing facilities for soil, seeds, and fertilizers, besides information about government schemes.
- Currently, fertilizer retail shops in the country are company-managed, cooperative shops or retailed to private dealers. These retail shops will now be converted into PM-KSKs.
PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released the 12th installment amount of 16,000 crore rupees to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi through Direct Benefit Transfer. Modi inaugurated the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 in New Delhi on October 17, 2022. PM-KISAN is a transformational initiative for farmers and the event has brought together farmers, agri-startups, and stakeholders on a single platform.
Agri Startup Conclave
Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated the Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition.
About 300 startups showcased their innovation related to precision farming, post-harvest and value-add solutions, allied agriculture, waste to wealth, mechanization for small farmers, supply chain management, and agri-logistics, among others.
The platform would facilitate startups to interact with farmers, farmer-producer organizations (FPOs), Agri-experts, corporates etc. Startups will also share their experience and interact with other stakeholders in technical sessions.
PM Modi also launched ‘Indian Edge’, an e-magazine on fertilizer. It will provide information on domestic and international fertilizer scenarios, including recent developments, price trend analysis, availability and consumption, and success stories of farmers, among others.
Benefits and Features of One Nation One Fertilizer
- One Nation One Fertilizer is an initiative started by the Government of India, under which agricultural fertilizers will be made available to the farmers only under the single “Bharat” brand name.
- Under this initiative, Prime Minister’s Bhartiya Jan-Urea Kin and all urea will be sold only under the brand name “Bharat”.
- Through this initiative, fertilizers manufactured by different companies will be sold in bags of similar design, so that there will be no confusion among the farmers about the brand.
- Black marketing and theft of fertilizers can be stopped if fertilizers are available with the same sack and same brand name. With this farmers will be able to buy fertilizers on time and at cheaper rates.
- Along with this, fertilizers will be made available at the same rate at all places of the country under this initiative.
- Apart from this, it will be necessary for the companies to put a barcode on all the fertilizer bags, which will be read through the bar code reading machine.
- It will be mandatory for the fertilizer company to sell fertilizer bags through bar code reading machines through POS machines under DBT to get fertilizer subsidies provided by the government.
Drawbacks of One Nation One Fertilizer
- Due to this initiative to be implemented by the central government, various fertilizer companies in the country will be discouraged from undertaking marketing and brand promotion activities.
- Under this initiative, companies are likely to be restricted to contract manufacturers and importers for the government.
- With the launch of this initiative, fertilizer companies are likely to lose their decades-long brand and trust of farmers in their products.
- At present, in case of any bag or batch of fertilizers not meeting the required standards, the blame was put on the fertilizer company, but after the launch of this initiative, this responsibility would be entirely with the central government.
- For this, the opposition party can use One Nation One Fertilizer against the ruling party.
