With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements :
- 1.At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.
- 2.Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
- 3.Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of oil refineries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Show answer
Answer: B. Statement 1 is wrong: urea prices are fixed by the government, and P and K fertilisers are under the Nutrient Based Subsidy, so prices are not purely market-driven. Statement 2 is correct: ammonia for urea is mostly made from natural gas. Statement 3 is correct: sulphur used for phosphoric acid is a by-product of oil refineries. So 2 and 3.
Watch for: P and K prices were 'decontrolled', so students think all fertiliser prices are market-driven.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because fertiliser prices are administered, especially for urea.
- C. Wrong because statement 3 is also correct.
- D. Wrong because statement 1 is false.
Source to check: Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (fert.nic.in), urea pricing and NBS policy
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.