A total of 4,84,663 raids were conducted across India during 2025 to crack down on black marketing, hoarding, diversion, and sale of sub-standard fertilisers, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, 28 July. The enforcement drive resulted in 17,392 show-cause notices, suspension or cancellation of 6,941 licences, and registration of 847 FIRs.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Anupriya Patel disclosed the figures while outlining the Centre's comprehensive framework to ensure uninterrupted fertiliser supplies and maintain affordability for farmers.

Fertiliser Availability Exceeds Requirements

Government data for FY 2025-26 showed that supply comfortably outpaced demand across all major fertiliser categories. Urea availability stood at 450.79 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) against a requirement of 381 LMT. For DAP, availability reached 121.72 LMT against a requirement of 110 LMT. Similar surpluses were recorded for MOP and NPKS.

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and the Department of Fertilisers coordinate with state governments to assess month-wise and state-wise requirements, allocating supplies through monthly plans. All movement of major subsidised fertilisers is tracked in real time through the Integrated Fertilizer Management System (iFMS).

Supply Chain and Distribution Mechanism

The government finalises fertiliser imports well in advance to bridge the gap between domestic production and demand. It coordinates with manufacturers, importers, and the Ministry of Railways for priority movement of fertiliser rakes. State governments, in turn, oversee district-level distribution to ensure last-mile delivery.

This is part of a broader logistics architecture that has been progressively tightened since the iFMS was scaled up, reducing scope for diversion at the point of sale.

Price Support for Farmers

Fertilisers continue to be kept affordable through two central schemes. Under the Urea Subsidy Scheme, the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of a 45 kg bag of urea is capped at ₹242 per bag, with the difference between delivered cost and market realisation reimbursed to manufacturers or importers as subsidy.

For DAP, the MRP is held at ₹1,350 per 50 kg bag during Kharif 2026. To sustain this, the Centre has extended additional support of ₹3,500 per metric tonne over and above the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme for imported and domestic DAP and imported Triple Super Phosphate (TSP).

Pesticide Quality Safeguards

Beyond fertilisers, the minister noted that the government has also taken several measures to ensure availability of safe and quality pesticides. The Registration Committee under the Insecticides Act, 1968 clears pesticides only after evaluating both efficacy and safety. Insecticide Inspectors appointed by the Central and state governments regularly collect samples from manufacturing units and retail outlets for quality testing, providing an additional layer of consumer protection for farmers.

With the Kharif 2026 sowing season under way, the scale of enforcement and the supply buffer suggest the Centre is prioritising agricultural input security as a policy priority heading into the second half of the year.