NEW DELHI, July 29 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has permitted the manufacture and agricultural use of anhydrous ammonia as a fertiliser for a three-year period, a move aimed at easing India's heavy reliance on imported urea.
The approval, issued under the Fertiliser Control Order of 1985, applies to ammonia with a minimum nitrogen content of 82 percent, offering farmers and fertiliser companies an alternative nitrogen source outside conventional urea. India currently produces around 300 lakh tonnes of urea a year domestically but still imports roughly 100 lakh tonnes to meet demand, a gap officials say has kept the country exposed to global price swings and supply disruptions.
Alongside the anhydrous ammonia approval, the government flagged a separate green urea pilot project coming up at Pudimadaka in Andhra Pradesh, led by NTPC's research arm, which will combine carbon capture technology with water electrolysis to produce urea with a lower carbon footprint.
For economy-focused sections, this ties together fertiliser security, import dependence, and India's emerging green hydrogen and carbon-capture initiatives — all frequently tested together in current affairs capsules.