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Context:

• The Centre has proposed a law that empowers it to fix the maximum selling price of fertilizers and control its quality as well as distribution.
• The Department of Fertilizers has sought comments from all stakeholders on the draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022.

 

Proposals made in the Bill:

Nutrition management Authority of India

• It seeks to establish an ‘Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Authority of India’.

 

Fixing maximum selling price

• The Centre has proposed a law that empowers it to fix the maximum selling price of fertilisers and control its quality as well as distribution.

 

Sustainable use of Fertilizers

• The proposed law is aimed at promoting the development and sustainable use of balanced fertilisers, including bio-fertilisers, bio-stimulates, nano-fertilisers, and organic fertilisers.

 

Controlling Distribution

• It declared that it is expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the distribution, price, and quality of standards of fertilisers.

 

Simplification of process

• It seeks to simplify the process for the manufacture, production, distribution, and price management of fertilisers in India, which will, in turn, improve the ease of doing business.

 

Regulating Distribution

• The Central Government may, with a view to regulating the equitable distribution of fertilisers and making fertilisers available at fair prices, by notification in the Official Gazette, fix the maximum prices or rates at which any fertiliser may be sold by a dealer, manufacturer, importer or a fertiliser marketing entity.

 

Empowering the Centre

• It proposes to empower the Centre to fix different prices or rates for fertilisers having different periods of storage or for different areas or for different classes of consumers.
• The Central government can also prescribe the manner in which fertilisers are to be moved from one state to another.

 

Restrictions

• No person can manufacture, sell, import for sale, or market without obtaining the appropriate registration.
• No dealer, manufacturer importer or fertiliser marketing entity shall sell or offer for sale any fertiliser at a price exceeding the maximum price.

 

 | The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)