Current Affairs

UPSC PM PRANAM - English

Context

• PM PRANAM (Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana) has been planned to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers by incentivising states

Features of the scheme:

• No separate budget: The scheme will not have a separate budget and will be financed by the “savings of existing fertiliser subsidy” under schemes run by the Department of fertilisers.
• 50% subsidy savings will be passed on as a grant to the state that saves the money

• 70% of the grant provided under the scheme can be used for asset creation (adoption of alternate fertilisers at the village, block and district levels)
• 30% grant money can be used for incentivising farmers, panchayats, FPOs and selfhelp groups that are involved in the reduction of fertiliser use and awareness generation.

•  Data available on a fertiliser Ministry dashboard, iFMS (Integrated fertilisers Management System), will be used for this purpose

Status of Fertilizer use and subsidy:

• The total requirement of four fertilisers — Urea, DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate), MOP (Muriate of potash), and NPKS (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) — increased by 21% between 2017-2018 and 2021-2022.
• The Kharif season (June-October) accounts for nearly half the year’s production of foodgrains, one-third of pulses and approximately two-thirds of oilseeds. A sizable amount of fertiliser is required for this season

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