Parliament Question: Supply of Natural Gas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5674 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2026 Supply of Natural Gas 5674: Shri Selvaganapathi T.M.: Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state: (a) Whether it is true that natural gas supplies to fertilizer firms have been reduced by forty to sixty per cent, if so, the details thereof; (b) Whether it is a fact that the reduced level of natural gas supplies to fertilizer firms will affect fertilizer production in the Country, if so, the details thereof; and (c) Whether it is also a fact that the Country has enough fertilizer stocks to meet the upcoming Kharif season, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL) (a) & (b): Vide Gazette Notification dated 9th March, 2026, Government notified the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 due to Force Majeure because of ongoing issues in Middle East. Under this Order, fertilizer plants were designated as Priority Sector II, with gas supply to be ensured at 70% of their past six-month average consumption, subject to operational availability. In implementation of the said order, Gas allocation to the Fertilizer units has been maintained at ~ 65% of their past six-month average consumption considering the operational availability. To further augment supplies to the Fertilizer sector, an additional ~7.31 MMSCMD of Natural Gas has been procured through EPMC (Empowered Pool Management Committee) bidding process for the period 18th March 2026 to 31st March 2026. This has resulted in an increase in total gas availability to the Fertilizer sector to ~80% of their past six-month average consumption. During the period starting from 1st March, 2026 to 24th March 2026, 13.55 LMT of Domestic Urea has been produced. Apart from that, DAP/NPKs and SSP has been produced to the tune of 7.62 LMT & 3.06 LMT respectively for the same period. (c): Before the commencement of each cropping season, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), in consultation with all the State Governments, assesses the State-wise & month-wise requirement of fertilizers. Further, on the basis of requirement projected by DA&FW, D/o Fertilizers allocates adequate quantities of fertilizers to States by issuing monthly supply plan and continuously monitors the availability. In view of the above, the current stocks of fertilizers in the country as on 23.03.2026 includes 53.08 LMT of Urea, 21.80 LMT of DAP, 7.98 LMT of MOP and 48.38 LMT of NPKs. ***