The Government continues to drive the "PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother-Earth" (PM-PRANAM), approved on June 28, 2023. The scheme provides a unique grant mechanism to incentivize States and Union Territories (UTs) that successfully reduce their consumption of chemical fertilizers compared to their previous three-year average.

All States/UTs are covered under the PM-PRANAM scheme. Under the PM-PRANAM scheme, there is a provision to provide incentives to States/UTs for reduction of consumption of chemical fertilizers (Urea, DAP, NPK, MOP) in a given financial year, compared to the average consumption over the previous three years, equivalent to 50% of the fertilizer subsidy saved. Of the total grant, 95% will be allocated to the State, while  provided to the States, 65% is for capital expenditure (capex) projects, preferably as contributions to Centrally Sponsored Schemes, and 30% is untied for other activities, including Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) initiatives.

Department of Fertilizers (DoF) in collaboration with fertiliser companies, has launched Maha Abhiyan to promote the adoption of Nano DAP across all 15 Agro-climatic zones of the country through consultations & field-level demonstrations. Under the guidance of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the supervision of ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), IFFCO had conducted 2,500 Nano DAP Farmer Field Trials during Kharif and Rabi 2024–25 and 2,938 Nano DAP Farmer Field Trials during Kharif and Rabi 2025-26 (till 23.03.2026) across 15 Agro-Climatic Zones (ACZs) of the country.

Additionally, DoF in collaboration with fertiliser companies, has initiated a nationwide campaign for field-level demonstrations and awareness programmes on Nano Urea Plus in 100 districts. IFFCO had conducted 448 Nano Urea Farmer Field Trials during Kharif and Rabi 2024–25 and 484 Nano Urea Farmer Field Trials during Kharif and Rabi 2025-26 (till 23.03.2026) across 15 Agro-Climatic Zones (ACZs) of the country under the guidance of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the supervision of ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

The State wise, Agroclimatic Zone (ACZ) wise, Nano Fertilisers Field Trials, including Nano Urea and Nano DAP are placed at Annexure I (Kharif, 2024  (April to September-2024)), Annexure II (Rabi, 2024-25, (Oct-2024 to Mar-2025)), Annexure III (Kharif, 2025   (April to September-2025)) and Annexure IV (Rabi, 2025-26 (Oct-2025 to Mar-2026, as on 23.03.2026)).

Karnataka State Agriculture Universities have undertaken 2 long term experiments at University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK), Bangalore, which are as under:

1. Long Term Fertilizer Experiments are under progress since 1986 at All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRP) on Long-Term Fertilizer Experiments (LTFE), UAS, GKVK, Bangalore to study changes in soil quality, crop productivity and sustainability in Alfisols under finger millet-maize cropping system. The results of the experiments are attached at Annexure V.
2. Long Term Fertilizer Experiments are under progress since 1978 at All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRP) on Dry land Agriculture, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore to study the changes in soil quality, crop productivity and sustainability under finger millet mono-cropping and finger millet-groundnut crop rotation.

In addition to this, long-term studies conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at various locations across diverse agro-ecological regions of the country demonstrate the impact of balanced nutrient application on soil health and crop productivity. The findings indicate that recommended NPK application (100% NPK) improves crop yields by about 20–30 per cent over nitrogen-only use, while integrated nutrient management (100% NPK + farmyard manure) further enhances productivity by 30–50 per cent over control plots. Soil organic carbon is highest under integrated nutrient management, improving by about 0.1–0.3 percentage points over long-term nitrogen-only treatments, indicating better soil health. Microbial biomass carbon is also significantly higher, by 20–40 per cent, under integrated nutrient management compared to chemical fertilizers alone. In contrast, continuous nitrogen-only application leads to declining yields and deterioration of soil properties over time.

Further, under All India Coordinated Research Project on Soil Test Crop Response (AICRP-STCR), soil test-based balanced fertilizer prescription equations have been developed for major crops to enable site-specific nutrient management based on soil fertility and farmers’ resources. Coordinated programmes also promote balanced fertilization and integrated nutrient management through training, demonstrations, and awareness activities. Overall, balanced and integrated nutrient application is essential for sustaining soil fertility, improving crop productivity, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

The farmers can purchase their required amount of subsidized fertilizers based on the recommendation of Soil Health Card received by them through any fertilizers retail shop/ Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendra (PMKSK). The subject matter of Soil Health Card falls in the purview of Department of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare and no such proposal of integrate Soil Health Card recommendations with fertilizers supply plan has yet been received from the administrative Ministry.

Annexure-I

State wise, Agroclimatic Zone (ACZ) Wise, Nano Fertilisers Field Trials by IFFCO (in nos.) during KHARIF, 2024  (April to September-2024)
S. No.	State	Nano Urea Plus		Nano DAP		Grand Total
		Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted
1	Andhra Pradesh	4	4	40	39	44	43
2	Andman & Nicobar			5	5	5	5
3	Arunachal Pradesh			1	1	1	1
4	Assam	4	4	55	55	59	59
5	Bihar	8	8	100	100	108	108
6	Chhattisgarh	6	6	20	20	26	26
7	Gujarat	12	12	80	80	92	92
8	Haryana	10	11	50	52	60	63
9	Himachal Pradesh	4	4	20	20	24	24
10	Jammu And Kashmir	0	4	20	19	20	23
11	Jharkhand	4	4	20	20	24	24
12	Karnataka	8	8	80	80	88	88
13	Kerala	2	2	20	16	22	18
14	Madhya Pradesh	10	10	80	80	90	90
15	Maharashtra	12	12	90	90	102	102
16	Manipur			2	2	2	2
17	Mizoram			8	8	8	8
18	Odisha	4	4	60	60	64	64
19	Punjab	14	14	50	50	64	64
20	Rajasthan	14	14	60	60	74	74
21	Tamil Nadu	14	14	85	86	99	100
22	Telangana	10	10	40	40	50	50
23	Tripura			4	4	4	4
24	Uttar Pradesh	44	44	150	150	194	194
25	Uttarakhand	6	6	59	59	65	65
26	West Bengal	10	10	70	70	80	80
27	G Total	200	205	1270	1266	1470	1471

Annexure-II

State wise, Agroclimatic Zone (ACZ) wise, Nano Fertilisers Field Trials by IFFCO (in nos.),  during RABI, 2024-25, (Oct-2024 to Mar-2025)
S. No.	State	Nano Urea Plus		Nano DAP		Grand Total
		Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted
1	Andhra Pradesh	4	7	40	43	5	6
2	Andman & Nicobar			5	6
3	Arunachal Pradesh			1	1	1	1
4	Assam	4	20	55	55	59	75
5	Bihar	8	8	100	105	108	113
6	Chhattisgarh	6	7	20	19	26	26
7	Gujarat	12	12	80	80	92	92
8	Haryana	10	9	50	53	60	62
9	Himachal Pradesh	4	4	20	20	24	24
10	Jammu And Kashmir		4	20	20	20	24
11	Jharkhand	4	6	20	20	24	26
12	Karnataka	8	4	80	48	88	52
13	Kerala	2	2	20	15	22	17
14	Madhya Pradesh	10	10	80	80	90	90
15	Maharashtra	12	12	90	92	102	104
16	Manipur			2	2	2	2
17	Mizoram			8	8	8	8
18	Odisha	4	4	60	62	64	66
19	Punjab	14	14	50	50	64	64
20	Rajasthan	14	35	60	60	74	95
21	Tamil Nadu	14	14	85	84	99	98
22	Telangana	10	10	40	40	50	50
23	Tripura			4	3	4	3
24	Uttar Pradesh	44	46	150	150	194	196
25	Uttarakhand	6	5	59	48	65	53
26	West Bengal	10	10	70	70	80	80
27	G Total	200	243	1270	1234	1470	1477

 

Annexure-III

 

State wise, Agroclimatic Zone (ACZ) wise, Nano Fertilisers Field Trials by IFFCO (in Nos.) during KHARIF, 2025   (April to September-2025)
S. No.	State	Nano Urea Plus		Nano DAP		Grand Total
		Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted
1	Andhra Pradesh	4	4	40	41	44	45
2	Andman & Nicobar			5	0	5	0
3	Arunachal Pradesh			1	1	1	1
4	Assam	4	4	55	57	59	61
5	Bihar	8	8	100	104	108	112
6	Chhattisgarh	6	7	20	22	26	29
7	Gujarat	12	12	80	80	92	92
8	Haryana	10	10	50	57	60	67
9	Himachal Pradesh	4	4	20	20	24	24
10	Jammu And Kashmir	0	5	20	20	20	25
11	Jharkhand	4	6	20	21	24	27
12	Karnataka	8	15	80	80	88	95
13	Kerala	2	1	20	12	22	13
14	Madhya Pradesh	10	10	80	76	90	86
15	Maharashtra	12	11	90	84	102	95
16	Manipur			2	2	2	2
17	Mizoram	0	1	8	8	8	9
18	Odisha	4	4	60	60	64	64
19	Punjab	14	14	50	50	64	64
20	Rajasthan	14	35	60	63	74	98
21	Tamil Nadu	14	17	85	71	99	88
22	Telangana	10	10	40	40	50	50
23	Tripura			4	4	4	4
24	Uttar Pradesh	44	52	150	134	194	186
25	Uttarakhand	6	5	59	35	65	40
26	West Bengal	10	10	70	70	80	80
27	G Total	200	245	1269	1212	1469	1457

Annexure-IV

State wise, Agroclimatic Zone (ACZ) wise Nano Fertilisers Field Trials by IFFCO (in Nos.),   during RABI, 2025-26 (Oct-2025 to Mar-2026, as on 23.03.2026)
S. No.	State	Nano Urea Plus		Nano DAP		Grand Total
		Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted	Targeted	Trials Conducted
1	Andhra Pradesh	4	4	40	40	44	44
2	Andman & Nicobar			5	0	5	0
3	Arunachal Pradesh			1	1	1	1
4	Assam	4	4	55	55	59	59
5	Bihar	8	9	100	100	108	109
6	Chhattisgarh	6	3	20	19	26	22
7	Gujarat	12	12	80	80	92	92
8	Haryana	10	10	50	58	60	68
9	Himachal Pradesh	4	4	20	20	24	24
10	Jammu And Kashmir	0	5	20	20	20	25
11	Jharkhand	4	4	20	20	24	24
12	Karnataka	8	8	80	80	88	88
13	Kerala	2	2	20	20	22	22
14	Madhya Pradesh	10	10	80	83	90	93
15	Maharashtra	12	19	90	92	102	111
16	Manipur			2	2	2	2
17	Mizoram			8	8	8	8
18	Odisha	4	4	60	60	64	64
19	Punjab	14	15	50	50	64	65
20	Rajasthan	14	39	60	62	74	101
21	Tamil Nadu	14	15	85	85	99	100
22	Telangana	10	10	40	40	50	50
23	Tripura			4	4	4	4
24	Uttar Pradesh	44	47	150	153	194	200
25	Uttarakhand	6	5	59	50	65	55
26	West Bengal	10	10	70	70	80	80
27	G Total	200	239	1269	1272	1469	1511

 

Annexure-V

Results of Experiment

1. Incorporation of FYM along with optimal dose of NPK, improved soil physical properties (Soil aggregates, bulk density, total porosity and hydraulic conductivity).
2. The practice of applying only fertilizers has resulted in considerable drop down in soil pH, especially with higher levels of NPK and N alone.
3. Application of FYM as soil amendment is more effective than lime as former has not only moderating effect but also supplies nutrients like N, P, K and other micronutrients.
4. Buildup of available phosphorus is recorded in plots treated with 100% and 150% dose of P while, marginal buildup of K is recorded in plots that received 100% potassium.
5. Reduced level of phosphorus application (50% P) would be beneficial in terms of saving fertilizers as well as sustaining the crop productivity in P buildup soils.
6. Available S content in soil markedly increased when SSP fertilizer was given as P source but decreased when treated with DAP. Sulphur deficiency was observed due to continuous application DAP fertilizer as P source.
7. There was a marginal decline of Ca content in soil in all treatments except those treated with lime and FYM.
8. Deficiency of micronutrients is not found as the balanced application of nutrients using organic manure is taking care of micronutrients by mobilization from the reserve source of residual bio-mass added to soil.
9. Balanced and integrated use of nutrients improved soil organic carbon status, the beneficial microbiological population and enzyme activities in soil.
10. The minimum amount (threshold) of carbon required to maintain initial carbon level in soil is dependent on initial content of carbon in soil and climate and it was found to be 3600 kg/ ha/year.
11. Integrated use of inorganic fertilizers and organic manures not only sustained the soil productivity on long term basis but also improved the nutrient use efficiency.
12. The sustainable yield index (SYI) of maize and finger millet over the years is found highest in the plots which received NPK+FYM+lime and 150% NPK, respectively.
13. Higher Soil Quality Index is recorded in T10 (NPK+FYM+ lime) followed by T8 (NPK+FYM) treatments and lower SQI is recorded in control and imbalanced treatments.
14. Soil pH, K, Ca, Mg and microbial biomass carbon are important soil indicators to be taken care of for improving soil quality. Practical Significance: Applying the optimal dose of fertilizers integrated with organic sources such as FYM is essential for sustaining crop productivity and improving long-term soil health. Indiscriminate or imbalanced use of nitrogenous fertilizers drastically reduces yield and leads to significant deterioration of soil health. Farmers should be discouraged from applying only nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (such as DAP and urea) for finger millet. The inclusion of potassium, along with recommended doses of nitrogen and phosphorus, is crucial for achieving sustained higher yields. The commonly used high-analysis fertilizer DAP should be supplemented with secondary nutrients, as continuous reliance on DAP alone has contributed to widespread secondary nutrient deficiencies. Continuous application of the recommended dose of phosphorus has been observed to cause soil phosphorus buildup. In such situations, applying half the recommended phosphorus dose is sufficient to meet the crop's needs without compromising yield.

(Source: UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru)

Practical Significance:

• Applying the optimal dose of fertilizers integrated with organic sources such as FYM is essential for sustaining crop productivity and improving long-term soil health.
• Indiscriminate or imbalanced use of nitrogenous fertilizers drastically reduces yield and leads to significant deterioration of soil health.
• Farmers should be discouraged from applying only nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (such as DAP and urea) for finger millet. The inclusion of potassium, along with recommended doses of nitrogen and phosphorus, is crucial for achieving sustained higher yields.
• The commonly used high-analysis fertilizer DAP should be supplemented with secondary nutrients, as continuous reliance on DAP alone has contributed to widespread secondary nutrient deficiencies.

Continuous application of the recommended dose of phosphorus has been observed to cause soil phosphorus buildup. In such situations, applying half the recommended phosphorus dose is sufficient to meet the crop's needs without compromising yield.

This information was given by the Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

 ******

Neeraj Kumar Bhatt/ Amit Kumar/ Shatrughna Prasad

cmc.fertilizers[at]gmail[dot]com

(Release ID: 2246007) Visitor Counter : 599