FAI New Delhi organized a three days workshop on “Implications of the New Fertiliser Policy” at ‘The Royal Plaza’, Gangtok (Sikkim) during June 13-15, 2006. The workshop was attended by twenty-nine participants from fifteen organizations representing fertiliser manufacturers and marketers. A total of five presentations were made in the workshop.
The programme started with the presentation of flowers by Shri U.S. Jha, Vice Chairman FAI and CMD, RCF, Mumbai to Shri Madhukar Gupta, Secretary (F), GoI, New Delhi to welcome him to the workshop. It was followed by a welcome address by Shri B.K. Saha, DG-FAI, New Delhi. Shri Saha welcomed the chief guest Shri Gupta, the faculty members and the participants. Shri Saha in his welcome address highlighted the new strides of FAI to suit the changing environment and emphasized the use of secondary and micronutrients, bio-fertilisers, organic manures in addition to N, P and K for enhancement of soil health and improvement of productivity. Emphasizing the need for balanced and integrated use of plant nutrients including secondary and micronutrients, he highlighted the efforts of FAI in this direction by way of observing the year 2006 as the year of soil health enhancement which involves nationwide campaign for soil testing with the cooperation of the State Agricultural Universities, the State Agricultural Departments and the fertiliser industry.
Shri Madhukar Gupta, Secretary (F), in his inaugural address set the tone for
deliberation during the course of the next two days by highlighting the dynamics
of fertiliser policy. Specifically, he suggested that the discussion should
explore the possibilities and direction for moving forward from the current
situation. Speaking on the urea policy, he mentioned that the DoF has tried to
address the major concerns of the industry in the proposed policy. He suggested
that within the limitations, the DoF is trying to do its level best and remove
the anomalies as far as possible.
He referred to the recommendations of the Expert Group headed by Prof. Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission for the phosphatic segment and mentioned that the adoption of the Group’s recommendation had to be restricted to pricing of phosphoric acid only for the time being due to some constraints. He, however, suggested that since the WTO compatibility is the main constraint in implementation of these recommendations, the industry should constitute a Group to study these recommendations vis-à-vis the provisions of the WTO and come out with constructive suggestions so that these recommendations can be implemented within the purview of WTO.
Speaking on the long-term perspective of the fertiliser industry, the Secretary (F) observed that probably the nutrient based subsidy with liberalized pricing regime could be the right approach.
Speaking on the availability and pricing of feedstock, especially the natural gas / RLNG, he admitted that the long-term price contracts are not likely to emerge soon. However, he suggested that the industry members should join hands with each other and jointly approach the existing and prospective gas suppliers and infrastructure providers for ensuring supply of gas in the future.
Speaking on the state of the extension services at the field levels, the Secretary (F) said that while he appreciated the work being done by the industry, he said that much more needed to be done. He called upon the industry to take this as a business opportunity in the form of agribusiness and provide quality information and services to the farmers to increase their income levels.
On the conclusion of the inaugural ceremony, Shri R.C. Gupta, DDG-FAI proposed a vote of thanks to Shri Gupta, Shri Jha, Shri K.P. Adhikari, Secretary (Ag. & Hor.), Government of Sikkim, Shri S.K. Sinha, Director of Agriculture, Government of Sikkim and Shri G.S. Mangat, CMD, NFL, Noida and all the participants.
On the second day, a total of three papers were presented by the speakers. The first paper was presented by Shri U.S. Jha, CMD, RCF, Mumbai on “New Urea Pricing Policy – A Close Look”. The second paper was presented by Shri D. K. Das, Vice President (Marketing), Hindalco Industries Limited, Vadodara on “Policy on Phosphatic and Complex Fertilisers”. The third paper was presented by Dr. Ramendra Singh, Scientific Advisor, Tata Chemicals Limited, Noida on “Legal Framework for Customised Fertilizers”.
On the third and the last day of the workshop, a total of two papers were presented by the speakers. The first paper was presented by Shri B.K. Saha, DG, FAI on the “Value Added Tax (VAT) in the states of India”. The second paper was presented by Shri P. Nagarajan, Vice President (F&A), Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd., Secunderabad on the subject “VAT as applicable to the Fertiliser Industry”.
M/s PPL, Bhubaneswar and M/s NFL, Noida hosted the dinner to the participants of the programme on the 13th and the 14th June, 2006 respectively.
The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Shri R.C. Gupta to Shri Madhukar Gupta, Secretary (F), the resource persons who presented the papers, all the participants and the hotel staff.
