There are, at present, 63 fertilizer units manufacturing a wide range of nitrogenous and complex fertilizers, including 38 units producing urea and 9 units producing ammonium sulphate as a by-product. Besides, there are about 81 units producing single superphosphate. Over two-thirds of the production capacity lay with the public sector companies.
The Fertilizer Corporation of India (Ftl), the National Fertilisers Limited (NFL), the Hindustan Fertilizers Corporation (HFC),the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (RCF), the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT), the Madras Fertilisers Ltd., the Paradwip Phosphates Limited (PPL), and the Projects and Development India Limited are some important public sector undertakings worthy of mention.
(1) The Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCI)
It was established in 1961 to take over the management of Sindri and Nangal factories. FCI has now four units, one each at Sindri, (Bihar), Gorakhpur (U.P.), Talcher (Orissa), and Ramagundam (Andhra Pradesh), with a total installed capacity of 5.87 lakh tons of nitrogen. The Gorakhpur plant has remained closed since 1990 due to ageing of the plant, while the Talcher and Ramagundam units have been working below rated capacity due to the high ash content of coal and other technological problems.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(2) The National Fertilizers Limited (NFL)
It was incorporated in 1974. Presently it has five operating units, viz., the calcium ammonium nitrate plant at Nangal and the urea plants at Nangal, Bathinda, Panipat and Bijaipur. The total installed capacity of NFL has gone up to 13.70 lakh tons of nitrogen, making it the largest producer of nitrogenous fertilizers in the country.
(3) Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. (HFC)
It was formed in 1978. At present it has five operating units, three at Namrup in Assam and one each at Durgapur in West Bengal and Barauni in Bihar. HFC has a total annual derated installed capacity of 4.24 lakh tonnes of nitrogen.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(4) The Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF)
It was set up in 1978. Presently it has five operating units at Trombay (4 units) and a large gas- based fertilizer plant at Thai. The installed capacity of the RCF plants is 10 lakh tons of nitrogen and 1.20 lakh tons of phosphate.
(5) The Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT)
It has three operating units, one at Udyogamandal and two at Kochi. Besides fertilizers, the company is engaged in the manufacture of chemicals. With the commissioning of a caprolactam plant in October 1990, the company has entered the field of petro-chemicals also. FACT Engineering and Design Organisation (FEDO), another division of the company, is engaged in design, engineering, procurement, supervision of construction and commissioning of fertilizer/chemical plants.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(6) Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL)
It was formed in 1966 as a joint venture between the Govt, of India holding 58.74 per cent of the equity share capital and the National Iranian Oil Company holding 25.44 per cent and public equity holding of 15.82 per cent. The annual installed capacity of MFL is 2.54 lakh tons of nitrogen and 1.43 lakh tons of phosphate.
(7) Pyrites, Phosphates and Chemicals Ltd. (PPCL)
It was set up in March 1960. PPCL is presently engaged in the exploration of pyrites deposits as well as production of single superphosphate at Amjhore in Bihar, exploration-cum-production, mining of pyrites deposits as well as production of single superphosphate at Saladipura in Rajasthan and mining of rock phosphate ore from the Mussorie phosphoresce deposits.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(8) Paradwip Phosphate Limited (PPL)
It was established in December 1981 for setting up a phosphate fertilizer complex at Paradwip in Orissa. The first phase of the project, comprising 7.20 lakh TPA capacities DAP plant and allied facilities, was commissioned in 1986. The second phase of the project, comprising sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid pants went into commercial production in June 1992.
(9) Projects and Development India Limited (PDIL)
Formerly known as Fertilizer (Planning & Development) India Limited PDIL is engaged in design, engineering, procurement and supervision of construction/commissioning of fertilizer and allied chemical plants. The company has played a pioneering role in developing the know-how for the manufacture of catalysts in India.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(10) Co-operative Sector
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) incorporated on 3 November 1967 and Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) incorporated on 17 April, 1980 is multi-state cooperative societies under the administrative control of the Department of Fertilizers. IFFCO has six operating units, one each at Kalol, and Kandla in Gujarat and Phulpur, Phulpur Expansion, Aonla and Aonla Expansion in Uttar Pradesh. KRIBHCO has a gas-based urea-ammonia plant at Hazira in Gujarat with a capacity to produce 14.52 lakh tons of urea perannum.Thecombined installed capacity of lFFCO and KRIBHCO is 22.68 lakh tons of nitrogen and 3.08 lakh tons of phosphate.
(11) Private Sector
Some of the important private sector fertilizer companies are Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals, Gadepan; Oswal Chemical and Fertilizers, Paradwip; Indian Explosives Limited (IEL), Kanpur; Sri Ram Chemicals (SRC), Kota; Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Company (GNFC), Bharuch; Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd. Goa; Gujarat State Fertilizers Corporation (GSFC), Vadodara; SPIC, Tuticorin; New Central Jute Mill Ltd. (NCJML), Varanasi; and Mangalore Fertilizer and Chemicals (MFC), Mangalore.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(12) New Proposals
The government is considering new proposals valued at Rs. 6,973crores from private sector enterprises and cooperatives. These include National Fertilisers’ expansion of its Nangal and Panipat plants, KRIBHCO’s expansion of its Hazira plant and a new urea plant at Gorakhpur, IFFCO’s grassroots urea plant at Nellore and Kandla expansion project, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers’ (RCF) Thai plant expansion, Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Gadepan expansion project and Oswal Chemical and Fertilizers’ Paradwip project.
With a view to cutting down costs of importing raw materials, the Government is encouraging fertilizer units to enter into joint ventures with buy- back arrangements in other countries which have rich reserves of natural gas and rock phosphate.