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The fertilizer policy in India has been mainly driven by socio-political objectives of making fertilizer available to farmers at affordable prices and increasing fertilizer consumption to enhance agricultural production. The Indian fertilizer sector has, therefore, been under strict government control for most of the period since Independence. A price and distribution control system was considered to be necessary not only to ensure fair prices and equitable distribution but also to provide incentives for use of fertilizers to improve productivity and production. However, increasing level of subsidy is a matter of concern. Given the socio-political importance of fertilizer pricing on one hand and ever increasing subsidies on the other hand, the need for streamlining the sector has been felt for a long time.

Recognizing role of fertilizers in agriculture and increasing level of fertilizer subsidy, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the growth of the Indian fertilizer sector, and analyzes trends and patterns in consumption at all-India, regional, state and district levels. The extent, nature and causes of fertilizers subsidies, as well as issues related to equity in distribution of fertilizer subsidy between farmers and the industry, across regions/states, crops and different farm sizes have been addressed. Macro aspects of India fertilizer sector policy environment, fertilizers price policy objectives, and economics of fertilizer use have been analyzed.

The book will be valuable to policy-makers, planners, researchers, managers and entrepreneurs in the fertilizer industry as it provides insights into various issues, perspectives and interest of the industry under a changing economic environment.