Indian budget – the government fails to address the fertilizer industry’s immediate concerns

摘要

Fertilizer Minister Ananth Kumar declared the first budget of the Modi administration to be “pro farmers”. The government refrained from raising the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for urea despite hopes to the contrary, and despite a hike in indigenous urea’s input costs due to increased railway freights and gas prices. Effectively this means government will bear the additional cost burden through increased subsidy. The move is viewed by some as a populist stance to attract farmers’ votes in the upcoming state election in Bihar.