The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has accorded the following approval to the proposal of Department of Fertilizers:

(a)   The Target Energy Norms under New Urea Policy-2015(NUP-2015) for 11 urea units to be implemented w.e.f. 1^st April, 2018.

(b)   The extension of present energy norms with token penalties, under the New Urea Policy-2015 for a further period of two years for 14 urea manufacturing units which failed to achieve the Target Energy Norms.

(c)   Three Naphtha based urea units are also allowed the existing energy norms for another two years/till gas pipeline connectivity.

(d)     The target energy norms as per NUP-2015 will be continued for 5 years w.e.f. 1st April, 2020.

The extension of present energy norms for further period of 2 years will ensure easy availability of urea to farmers throughout the country. It will also help to maximize the indigenous urea production and will lessen the import of urea.

The approval will also help to recover some part of the CAPEX invested by urea manufacturing units for making their units more energy efficient. Energy efficient urea manufacturing units shall reduce the carbon footprint and it will be more environment friendly.

Chemical Fertilizers have played an important role in making the country self-reliant in food grain production and provide a very vital input for the growth of Indian agriculture.

The energy efficiency norms notified by the Department for the year 2018-19 are capital intensive. The cost economics of the companies does not support the implementation of energy saving schemes as the simple pay back on investment is very long.

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AKT/VBA/SH