Indian Fertilizer Industry

India is primarily an agriculture based economy. The agricultural sector

and its other associated spheres provide employment to a large section
of the country's population and contribute about 25% to the GDP.

The Indian Fertilizer

Industry is one of the allied sectors of the agricultural sphere. India has emerged as the third
largest producer of nitrogenous fertilizers. The adoption of back to back Five Year plans has paved
the way for self sufficiency in the production of food grains. In fact production has gone up to an
extent that there is scope for the export of food grains. This surplus has been facilitated by the use
of chemical fertilizers.

The large scale use of chemical fertilizers has been instrumental in

bringing about the green revolution in India. The fertilizer industry in
India began its journey way back in 1906. During this period the first
Single Super Phosphate (SSP) factory was established in Ranipet in
Chennai. It had a capacity of producing 6000 MT annually. In the pre
and post independence era a couple of large scale fertilizer units were
established namely the Fertilizer Corporation of India in Sindri, Bihar
and the Fertilizer & Chemicals Travancore of India Ltd in Cochin,
Kerala.

The Indian government has devised policies conducive to the

manufacture and consumption of fertilizers. Numerous committees have
been formed by the Indian government to formulate and determine
fertilizer policies. The dramatic development of the fertilizer industry and
the rise in its production capacity has largely been attributed to the
favorable policies. This has resulted in large scale investments in all
three sectors viz. public, private and co-operative.

At present there are 57 large scale fertilizer units. These manufacture

an extensive range of phosphatic, nitrogenous and complex fertilizers.
29 of these 57 units are engaged in the manufacturing of urea, while 13
of them produce Calcium Ammonium Nitrate and Ammonium Sulphate.
The remaining 20 fertilizer plants manufacture complex fertilizers and
DAP. There are also a number of medium and small scale industries in
operation, about 72 of them. The following table elucidates the installed
capacity of each sector.
Sl. No Sector Capacity (LMT) Percentage
Share
N P N P
1 Private Sector 53.94 35.13 44.73 62.08
2 Public Sector 34.98 4.33 29.0 7.65
3 Cooperative 31.69 17.13 26.27 30.27
Sector
Total 120.61 56.59 100.0 100.0

The Department of Fertilizers is responsible for the planning, promotion

and development of the Fertilizer industry. It also takes into account the
import and distribution of fertilizers and also the financial aspect. There
are four main divisions of the department. These include Fertilizer
Imports, Movement and Distribution, Finance and Accounts, Fertilizers
Projects and Planning and Administration and Vigilance. It makes an
assessment of the individual requirements of the states and union
territories and then lays out an elaborate supply plan.

Though the soil in India is rich in silt, it lacks chief plant

nutrients like potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. The increase in the production of fertilizers and
its consumption acts as a major contributor to overall agricultural development.

India is basically an agricultural country which economy depends largely upon its
agrarian produce. Agricultural sphere contributes about 25% to the country's GDP. As a
result, Indian fertilizer industry has tremendous scope in and outside the country as it is
one of the allied parts of agriculture.

Today, Indian Fertilizer Industry is developing in terms of technology. Indian

manufacturers are adopting advanced manufacturing processes to prepare innovative new
products for Indian agriculture. India has entitled as the third largest producer and
exporter of nitrogenous fertilizer.

Growth of Fertilizer Industry in India

Fertilizer industry in India is meeting all the requirements of agricultural industry since
the time of its inception in 1906. The first plant for fertilizers manufacture was set up in
the same year in Ranipet, Chennai. Then established the first two large-sized fertilizer
plants, one was the Fertilizer & Chemicals Tranvancore of India Ltd. (FACT) in Cochin,
Kerala, and the another one was Fertilizers Corporation of India (FCI) in Sindri, Bihar.
These two were established as pedestal fertilizer units to have self sufficiency in the
production of foodgrains. Afterwards, the industry gained impetus in its growth due to
green revolution in late sixties, followed by seventies and eighties when fertilizer
industry witnessed an incredible boom in the fertilizer production.

The tremendous demand of fertilizers has led the country to invest huge in the public, co-
operative and in private sectors. At present, India has more than 57 large sized plants of
fertilizers, manufacturing wide assortment of fertilizers including nitrogenous,
phosphatic, Ammonium Sulphate (AS), Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) urea, DAP
and complex fertilizers. Apart from it, there are other 64 small and medium scale Indian
manufacturers producing fertilizers.

Here is the list of some public sector Indian fertilizer industries;

- Madras Fertilizers Limited
- National Fertilizers Limited
- Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited
- Steel Authority Of India Limited
- Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore Limited
- Rashtriya Chemicals &Fertilizers Limited
- Paradeep Phosphates Limited
- Pyrites, Phosphates & Chemicals Limited
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited

Some of the major private sector fertilizer companies in India are:

- Balaji Fertilizers Private Limited

- Ajay Farm-Chem Private Limited
- Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Bharat Fertilizer Industries Limited
- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co. Limited
- Southern PetroChemical Industries Corporation Limited
- Godavari Fertilizers & Chemical Limited
- Shri Amba Fertilizers (I) Private Limited
- Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited
- Maharashtra Agro Industrial Development Corporation
- Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited

The speedy growth in the fertilizers production is swaying the Indian manufacturers to
transform into Indian exporters, and helping them create a long lasting impression on
global consumers.

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