New Delhi : Cash-rich coal, power and oil PSUs will jointly invest about Rs 30,000 crore to revive four mothballed fertiliser plants by 2020-21 to make India self- sufficient in urea production and cut imports. Besides investing in rebuilding the shut urea plants at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Sindri in Jharkhand, Talcher in Odisha and Barauni in Bihar, about Rs 13,000 crore is being invested in laying a gas pipeline to connect the eastern region with rest of the country.
Another Rs 6,000-8,000 crore is being invested in setting up a terminal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Dhamra in Odisha, taking the total investment to Rs 50,000 crore, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
“India’s annual requirement of urea is 31-32 million tonnes. In the fiscal year that ended on March 31 (2016-17), domestic production was 24.5 million tonnes and the rest was imported,” said Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar.Revival of the fertiliser units will boost productivity of agriculture, which account for about 15 per cent of India’s USD 2.11 trillion economy and employ three-fifths of its 1.3 billion people.
