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Title: DBT scheme for fertilizer subsidies gets cabinet nod
Source:Mint
Date:15 March 2018

The government decided to implement direct benefit transfer (DBT) for fertilizer subsidy payments across India, seeking to prevent diversion of fertilizers for commercial use and generate data on the usage of the nutrients to help farmers. The department of fertilizers has already rolled out the programme in most states, data from which shows that transaction time and alleged instances of overcharging by retailers have come down. Also, offtake has moderated, suggesting that overuse of subsidized fertilisers and their diversion for industrial use have declined. As a result, the Union government could limit the fertilizer subsidy for 2017-18 to Rs64,999 crore in the revised budget estimate, down more than 7% from the initial estimate made at the beginning of the fiscal year. The DBT model for fertilizers, however, is slightly different from that for others such as cooking gas, in which the ultimate consumer gets the entitlement in their bank account. That is because farmers cannot be forced to pay large amounts upfront on fertilizers and wait for reimbursement




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