Urea policy to boost fertiliser, energy security: GTRC-India

The National Investment Policy for Urea 2026, approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, will provide long-term policy certainty and strengthen the country’s fertiliser and energy security, Gasification Technologies & Research Council of India (GTRC-India) said.

The policy will encourage new investments in the urea sector to set up gas-based urea manufacturing units in the country.

GTRC-India said the policy mainly targets natural gas-based projects but also opens a pathway to gradually integrate coal gasification into the urea sector.

By introducing a transparent cost framework, assured returns of 12-16 per cent, and protection against foreign exchange volatility, the policy creates a robust investment environment for new urea capacity.

“With domestic demand growing at nearly five per cent annually, over 27 per cent import dependence, and 82 per cent of existing plants more than 25 years old, timely capacity addition has become imperative,” GTRC-India President Balasaheb Darade said.

Leveraging domestic coal can cut dependence on imported LNG and improve long-term subsidy efficiency.

While the policy currently focuses on natural gas-based projects, it also presents a strategic opportunity to progressively integrate coal gasification into India’s fertiliser ecosystem.

The policy aims to create fresh domestic urea capacity of 10 million tonnes and make India self-reliant in the most widely consumed fertiliser in the country.

GTRC-India is a national industry platform set up to advance the gasification ecosystem through collaboration, knowledge sharing, technology development, research partnerships and strategic engagement.

It represents stakeholders across India’s expanding coal gasification, coal-to-chemicals and downstream manufacturing sectors.