Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Centre deploys digital tool to prevent fertiliser shortages
The government has created a computer system to watch fertiliser supplies across India.
It can show where fertiliser is being sent, how much is available and where shortages may occur.
This may help officials act before farmers face long queues.
The system connects information about buyers, shops, farms and crops.
Farmer IDs could help check whether fertiliser purchases match the land and crops being farmed.
Officials say this could reduce cheating and illegal diversion of fertiliser.
Fertiliser subsidies have become more expensive because sales and imported prices have increased.
However, many areas still have limited coverage by Farmer IDs, so the system is not yet complete everywhere.
India’s fertiliser ministry has launched a real-time tool and dashboard tracking fertiliser dispatches, movement and inventories.
The system is integrated with the Integrated Fertiliser Management System, linking more than 140 million Aadhaar-linked buyers and over 250,000 retail outlets.
It also connects with Haryana’s Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal and national AgriStack databases.
Linking Farmer IDs to fertiliser sales could verify purchases against land ownership and crop patterns, helping curb pilferage and leakages.
The initiative comes as urea consumption and fertiliser subsidies have reached record or higher-than-budgeted levels.
- Who
- India’s fertiliser ministry, state governments, farmers and fertiliser retailers are involved.
- What
- A digital analytical tool and dashboard has been deployed to track fertiliser dispatches, movement and inventories in real time.
- When
- The tool has been operationalised; the article cites data for 2024-25, FY26 and August 15, 2026.
- Where
- Across India, with specific integration involving Haryana’s Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal.
- Why
- To prevent localised shortages, improve transparency, detect irregular purchases and reduce pilferage and subsidy leakages.
- System integration
- The tool is linked to the Integrated Fertiliser Management System, AgriStack and Haryana’s Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal.
- Buyers covered
- More than 140 million Aadhaar-linked fertiliser buyers are connected through the iFMS.
- Retail network
- The system covers more than 0.25 million, or 250,000, retail outlets.
- Annual transactions
- The iFMS processes nearly 70 million tonnes of fertiliser transactions each year.
- Annual subsidies
- The system supports transparent disbursement of around Rs 3 trillion in annual subsidies.
- FY26 subsidy
- Fertiliser subsidy reached Rs 1.86 trillion, nearly 11 per cent above the Rs 1.67 trillion Budget estimate.
- Farmer ID coverage
- As of August 15, 2026, Farmer IDs covered 61 per cent of India’s sown area, according to the agriculture ministry’s assessment.