15.55 mn tonnes of fertilisers sold via PoS under DBT scheme in April-July

New Delhi: About 15.55 million tonnes of fertilisers were sold during April-July of this fiscal through the point of sale (PoS) devices installed at retail shops under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, a senior Fertiliser Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Under the fertiliser DBT system, 100 per cent subsidy on various fertiliser grades is released to the fertiliser companies on the basis of actual sales made by the retailers to the beneficiaries who are identified through documents like Aadhaar card, Kisan credit card and the voter identity.

"Sale of fertilisers are being undertaken through the PoS machines smoothly. Up to July, 15.55 million tonnes of fertilisers were sold," the official said.

About 1.29 million tonnes of fertilisers were sold in April, 2.26 million tonnes in May, 4.63 million tonnes in June and 7.35 million tonnes in July of the current fiscal, he added. Among fertilisers, sale of locally manufactured urea was 7 million tonnes and imported urea was 1.34 million tonnes during the April-July period of this fiscal. Other soil nutrients like Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K), Single Superphosphate (SSP), Muriate of Potash (MoP) and compost were also sold.

"The fertiliser DBT was rolled out in phases from October 2017 onwards and now it is being implemented across India. It is functioning smoothly. There were initial hiccups and we have managed to tackle them," the official said. On subsidy payout through the DBT scheme, the official said the subsidy is released to the fertiliser companies once the bill is generated online. "The payment is being done within a week now after the bill is generated by the companies," the official added. The government bears about Rs 70,000 crore annually as fertiliser subsidy to provide cheaper nutrients to farmers.

In a recent report, rating agency ICRA observed that despite the challenges, the new system has increased the overall accountability of stakeholders, including manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, besides enhancing the transparency with improved tracking of physical movement of

fertiliser.