Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 18 October, launched the ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana-One Nation, One Fertiliser’ scheme, which is aimed at marketing fertilisers in the country under ‘Bharat’ brand name.

This means, there will be a uniform design of fertiliser bags across the country, labeled as BHARAT UREA, BHARAT DAP, BHARAT MOP and BHARAT NPK etc.

Under the scheme, companies are allowed to display their name, brand, logo and other relevant product information only on one-third space of their bags.

On the remaining two-thirds space, the 'Bharat' brand and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana logo will have to be shown.

The Key Benefits With The Roll-out Of ‘Bharat' Brand

• Ensure affordable quality fertiliser of Bharat brand to the farmers

• Reduce the cost of fertilisers and increase their availability

• Clear the confusion caused to farmers by multiple brands, as all DAP fertiliser brands must have 18 per cent Nitrogen and 46 per cent Phosphorus

How Are Fertilisers Currently Marketed In The Country?

Today, India is the third-largest producer and second-largest consumer of fertilisers in the world.

The fertiliser industry is distributed between three major participants’ viz., Private sector undertakings, public sector units and cooperative societies.

The major government players are Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation Limited (BVFCL), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited (RCF), National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) and Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT).

All fertiliser companies market various types of fertilisers under their own brand name, even though, there is no product differentiation among different brands for each type of fertiliser.

The Rationale Behind Bringing The New Scheme

Due to government regulations, there is no product differentiation among different brands for each type of fertiliser.

However, farmers are generally unaware of this fact and prefer certain brands as a result of vigorous marketing strategies adopted by firms with strong retailer networks developed over time.

Also, the local retailers used to promote sale of those fertiliser brands which offered them higher commission. As such farmers often ended up spending more to buy fertilisers of popular brands

Fertiliser Control Order (FCO), issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, has laid down fertiliser-wise detailed specifications and any fertiliser, not meeting the said specification, can not be sold in the country for agricultural purposes.

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