Agriculture boost: Cabinet clears NBS rates for Rabi 2025-26; Rs 37,952 crore subsidy to ensure affordable fertilisers

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for the Rabi season 2025-26 on Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilisers.The decision was announced by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at a cabinet press briefing held on Tuesday. The approved rates will be effective from October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.The tentative budgetary requirement for the Rabi 2025-26 season is estimated at Rs 37,952.29 crore, which is about Rs 736 crore higher than that for the Kharif 2025 season.The subsidy approved for 2025 Rabi is higher by about Rs 14,000 crore from the previous year, Vaishnaw said at the briefing.The decision aims to ensure the smooth availability of key fertilisers such as Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and NPKS (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potash, Sulphur) grades to farmers at affordable prices.Under the approved NBS rates, the subsidy has been fixed at Rs 43.02 per kg for Nitrogen (N), Rs 47.96 per kg for Phosphorous (P), Rs 2.38 per kg for Potash (K), and Rs 2.87 per kg for Sulphur (S) for the current Rabi season.The rates have been determined considering import prices and factors such as nutrient requirement, subsidy burden, and maximum retail price (MRP), according to the government.According to the PIB press release, the approval would ensure the availability of fertilisers to farmers at subsidised and reasonable rates, while also allowing rationalisation of subsidy levels based on recent international trends in fertiliser and input prices.Under the NBS scheme, which has been in effect since April 1, 2010, the government provides subsidies on 28 grades of P&K fertilisers, including DAP, through fertiliser manufacturers and importers.The subsidies are provided directly to companies at approved and notified rates to maintain stable retail prices for farmers.Rabi (winter) sowing has already begun in several parts of the country, with wheat, mustard, and gram being the major crops cultivated during this season.According to the press release, the move reflects the government’s ongoing commitment to making fertilisers accessible and affordable for Indian farmers, while adjusting subsidy rates in line with fluctuating global prices of key raw materials such as urea, DAP, MOP (Muriate of Potash) and sulphur.