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The production of urea, India’s most widely used solid nitrogen fertiliser, depends heavily on natural gas. Any disruption to global gas markets can therefore affect fertiliser availability and prices in India. Recent geopolitical tensions in West Asia are a case in point. In July 2026, the government approved the National Investment Policy for Urea-2026, which is expected to enable the establishment of up to nine new gas-based urea plants. A month earlier, the government-initiated work on a green urea roadmap to promote low-carbon urea production and strengthen domestic manufacturing. While these measures are important steps towards reducing import dependence and strengthening fertiliser security, enhancing nitrogen-use efficiency remains central to building long-term resilience.
As a concentrated source of nitrogen (46 per cent), urea has played a crucial role in improving crop growth and agricultural productivity in India since the Green Revolution. It now accounts for more than 55 per cent of the country’s total fertiliser consumption. Decades of subsidies have made it one of the cheapest sources of nitrogen available to farmers, making it indispensable to high-yielding agriculture.
However, excessive urea application has reduced nitrogen use efficiency to 30 per cent-45 per cent and contributed to soil nutrient imbalances, groundwater pollution, and rising fiscal costs. The policy challenge is not to move away from nitrogen, which remains essential for crop growth, but to reduce dependence on conventional urea by promoting diversified, resilient sources of plant nutrition.
Moving beyond the current urea-dominated fertiliser system will require complementary approaches: promoting alternative nitrogen products, using biofertilisers and green manure to supplement synthetic fertilisers, and decarbonising fertiliser production. These measures can strengthen fertiliser security while supporting long-term agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Alternative nitrogen products, such as nano urea and ammonium sulphate, could help reduce overreliance on conventional urea. Nano urea, a liquid leaf spray, was launched by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited in 2021 as a partial substitute for conventional urea. It has been promoted through nationwide field demonstrations, some of which have reported reductions in conventional urea use without corresponding declines in crop yields. Independent long-term evidence, however, remains limited. Similarly, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has promoted the use of ammonium sulphate, a fertiliser containing 21 per cent nitrogen and 24 per cent sulphur, particularly for paddy cultivation.
Rebuilding soil-based nutrient systems can further reduce excessive dependence on synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. Green manure crops, such as dhaincha, sunn hemp, and cowpea, together with farmyard manure and vermicompost, can improve soil organic matter. Biofertilisers can supplement crop nutrient requirements and, in some cases, fix atmospheric nitrogen. Studies suggest that biofertilisers can reduce chemical nitrogen requirements by 20 per cent-25 per cent across several crops.
Long-term experiments conducted by the ICAR have shown that integrated nutrient management can improve soil fertility and nutrient-use efficiency. However, adoption at scale remains constrained by limited awareness, inconsistent product quality, and weak extension services.
In line with India’s climate goals, fertiliser production should be decarbonised. Conventional urea is manufactured by reacting ammonia with carbon dioxide, while ammonia itself is typically produced using natural gas. According to the International Energy Agency, as of 2021, conventional ammonia production accounted for nearly 1.3 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions from the global energy system.
Green ammonia produced using renewable energy–based hydrogen, could enable the manufacture of nitrogen fertilisers with lower emissions. Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, India aims to develop an annual green hydrogen production capacity of 5 million metric tonnes by 2030. The government’s proposed roadmap for green urea plants could accelerate the partial substitution of natural gas-based ammonia in fertiliser production, although deployment at scale is likely to take time. As the costs of renewable energy decline, green ammonia could become an important pillar of India’s fertiliser resilience.
The Government of India has already taken several steps to support a more sustainable fertiliser system. Under the Soil Health Card Scheme, farmers receive field-specific information on soil nutrient status and fertiliser recommendations, enabling more balanced and judicious nutrient application. As of November 2025, more than 25.55 crore (255.5 million) soil health cards had been distributed nationwide.
Mandatory neem-coating of urea has also been implemented at scale, helping improve nitrogen-use efficiency by reducing losses through volatilisation and leaching. Together, these measures have helped institutionalise more balanced nutrient management.
However, the continued subsidisation of urea outside the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme remains a key policy challenge, as it reinforces farmers’ reliance on conventional urea. The NBS Scheme links subsidies for other fertilisers to their nutrient content, but urea continues to be subsidised separately and sold at a heavily controlled price. Its exclusion from the scheme weakens incentives for balanced fertiliser application.
Achieving fertiliser resilience requires shifting from a narrow focus on subsidising urea to more efficient nitrogen management across the agricultural system. Farmer producer organisations can support this transition by facilitating decentralised production of vermicompost and biofertilisers, aggregating crop residues for organic nutrient production, distributing nano urea and bio-inputs, and serving as local centres for farmer training. To perform these roles effectively, they will need access to working capital, stronger extension support, and performance-linked incentives that reward verifiable reductions in chemical nitrogen use.
As the government invests in strengthening domestic fertiliser production, India’s fertiliser transition must go further. The structural dependence on conventional urea must be reduced by improving nitrogen use efficiency, diversifying nutrient sources, and strengthening farmer-facing extension systems. These efforts together can ensure a resilient, self-reliant, and climate-smart nutrient management system.
Bhavya A P and Sachin V Phad are Senior Associates working in the Climate, Environment and Sustainability sector of CSTEP
Views expressed are the authors’ own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth