Cabinet raises rabi fertiliser subsidy 64% to Rs 62,370 crore for 2026-27
The new Nutrient Based Subsidy rates cover 28 grades of P&K fertilisers, including DAP, and apply from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Written with AI assistance from the sources listed below, then checked against them and reviewed by an editor. How our newsroom works
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a rabi fertiliser subsidy of Rs 62,370.02 crore for the 2026-27 season, about 64 per cent more than last year, ANI reported from a Cabinet press release. The rates cover phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers, including DAP and NPKS grades, and run from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
What the Cabinet approved on the rabi fertiliser subsidy
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for the rabi cropping season. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision after the meeting, The Statesman reported. Fertiliser manufacturers and importers receive the subsidy and sell 28 grades of P&K fertilisers, including DAP, to farmers at subsidised prices.
Last year’s rabi budget was Rs 37,952.29 crore, according to the release. This year’s figure is Rs 24,417.73 crore higher.
Key numbers
- Rs 62,370.02 crore: estimated budget for rabi 2026-27, per The Statesman.
- Rs 37,952.29 crore: the rabi 2025-26 budget, per ANI.
- Rs 24,417.73 crore: the increase over the previous rabi season, per india.com.
- 28: grades of P&K fertilisers on offer, per ANI.
- 6 months: the period the rates apply, from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, per The Statesman.
Why the Nutrient Based Subsidy rose
The government tied the revision to recent movements in international prices of urea, DAP, muriate of potash and sulphur, ANI reported from the release. india.com’s headline put the jump down to the West Asia crisis lifting input costs. The same conflict has run through other economic news this week, as our report on the Sensex rally as crude eased and our report on the Trump and Netanyahu call over Iran showed.
What Ashwini Vaishnaw and Modi said
Modi said in a post on X that the approval is meant to insulate farmers from swings in global prices. “Even amid difficult conditions worldwide, we are leaving no stone unturned to make their lives easier,” ANI quoted the post as saying.
Vaishnaw spoke at the Cabinet briefing. “Through this entire process, domestic manufacturing will increase, and farmers will not face any additional burden,” he said, according to india.com.
What happens next for the rabi fertiliser subsidy
Manufacturers and importers will be paid at the approved rates through to 31 March 2027. The reports NIS read do not list the per-tonne subsidy for each grade, so the effect on shop prices of DAP and NPKS during sowing is not yet clear. Farm groups and fertiliser companies have not been quoted on the decision in those reports.
A bigger subsidy bill lets manufacturers and importers keep supplying DAP and NPKS fertilisers to farmers at subsidised prices as global input costs rise. The extra Rs 24,417.73 crore is a cost to the exchequer, and the decision does not say what shop prices will be during sowing.