Union road transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari has floated the idea of making urea from urine to reduce India’s dependence on imports of the fertiliser from other countries, reports Press Trust of India (PTI).

Between April - November 2018, the country imported 42.03 lakh tonne of urea with a value of over $1 billion. Increasing fertiliser imports over the past decade have contributed to India’s burgeoning current account deficit (CAD).

Citing the example of extraction of biofuels from natural waste, Gadkari noted that human urine can not only be used for making bio-fuel but also ammonium, sulfate and nitrogen. "I have asked for storage of urine at airports. We import urea, but if we start storing urine of entire country then we will not need to import urea, so much potential it has, and nothing will be wasted," the minister said while addressing the Mayor Innovation Awards function of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation.

He spoke of how amino acids extracted from human hair waste could be used as a fertiliser. It boosted production at his farms by 25 per cent, Gadkari stated.

Too Much In The Comfort Zone

However, the minister expressed dissatisfaction at how some of his unorthodox ideas are dismissed without serious examination. "Other people do not cooperate with me because all my ideas are fantastic," the minister said.

"Even the (municipal) corporation will not help, because in government, people are trained to be like (blinkered) bulls who walk in the rut, not looking here and there," he added.

Also Read: Bringing Ram Rajya In Ayodhya: Nitin Gadkari To Launch Projects Worth Rs 7,195 Crore In The Holy City Today

Urine Organic Manure

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