New Delhi, July 24: India has maintained a comfortable urea inventory for the ongoing Kharif 2026 season, with stocks nearly 50 per cent higher than the seasonal requirement, the government informed Parliament on Friday.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Jagat Prakash Nadda said the total availability of urea during the Kharif 2026 season stood at 163.78 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) against a requirement of 109.40 LMT, translating into a surplus of about 47.9 per cent.

The minister also said the country's reassessed indigenous urea production capacity has increased from 207.54 lakh metric tonnes per annum (LMTPA) in 2014-15 to 269.42 LMTPA in 2026-27.

Highlighting the rise in domestic production, Nadda said urea output touched a record 314.07 LMT in 2023-24 and stood at 293.30 LMT in 2025-26, significantly higher than the annual average production of 210.72 LMT recorded during 2004-05 to 2013-14.

The minister said the government has established six new urea manufacturing units under the New Investment Policy-2012, adding a combined production capacity of 76.2 LMTPA to strengthen domestic fertilizer production.

"The Government continuously monitors the availability of critical fertilizer inputs to ensure uninterrupted production and availability of fertilizers. Natural gas is the principal feedstock for urea production," Nadda said.

He noted that as domestic natural gas availability remains insufficient to meet the fertilizer sector's requirement, demand is met through a combination of domestic gas and imported RLNG.

"The Government has also implemented a gas pooling mechanism for the urea sector to facilitate a uniform pooled price of natural gas for gas-based urea plants," the minister said.

Nadda further informed the House that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on July 15, 2026, approved the National Investment Policy for Urea-2026 for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (NIPU-2026) to encourage fresh investments in the urea sector.

To curb malpractices in fertilizer distribution, fertilizers continue to be regulated under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Between April 1 and July 17, 2026, state enforcement agencies conducted 1,58,886 raids, issued 8,262 show-cause notices, suspended or cancelled 2,692 licences, and registered 247 FIRs, according to the minister. (ANI)