Country's First Water soluble Fertilizer that will reduce our dependency on China

In geopolitics there is neither enemy nor friend it's always interests. Therefore current closeness is not concrete to trust China. Galwan incident recently stabbed India badly. To ease some stress India has successfully developed its first indigenous water-soluble fertiliser technology after seven years of research, marking a potential breakthrough that could transform the country from an import-dependent nation to an export-dominating force in specialty fertilisers.

The technology, backed by the Ministry of Mines and developed using Indian raw materials and Indian-designed plants, represents a true "Make in India" proposition that could significantly reduce the country's heavy dependence on Chinese specialty fertiliser imports.

Rajiv Chakraborty, President of the Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA), who spearheaded the research initiative stated that "My aim was to make India, especially for specialty fertilizer, an export-dominating country, not an import-dependent country," 

India's overwhelming reliance on Chinese specialty fertiliser imports provided the impetus for developing indigenous technology. The country currently imports 80 per cent of its specialty fertilisers directly from China, while the remaining 20 per cent is indirectly traded through Chinese sources.

Barring 5 per cent of NPK formulations produced domestically, India is 95 per cent dependent on Chinese supplies for specialty fertilisers. This dependency has grown steadily since 2005, when European suppliers began sourcing from China to serve Indian markets, gradually building capacity and technology to capture global market share. 

The financial toll was substantial, with Chakraborty risking his business to pursue the breakthrough. "I risked my entire life in doing that, developing something, and I was almost out of the business at one point of time, because I was not able to focus on developing my business as a soluble fertilizer player,".

The technology has undergone multiple layers of government scrutiny and received Ministry of Mines support for developing a pilot plant, which is now ready for scale-up.

The technology is expected to reach farmers' fields within two years when large-scale production capacities come online. Joint venture discussions are already underway with leading fertiliser companies for commercial implementation.

"This will start coming to the market two years down the line, when we will see big capacities, and I think very soon it will bring self-reliance in specialty fertiliser at least," Chakraborty said.

Environmental sustainability is a key feature, with the technology operating as a zero-effluent project with no emissions. This environmental consideration was instrumental in securing government support.

"This particular technology is a zero effluent project. There is no emission from this project. So that's why this was one of the grounds that the Ministry of Mines has taken into consideration and given it a project of national importance," he said.

The green credentials address growing concerns about pollution and the increasing difficulty of effluent disposal in industrial operations.

The indigenous development addresses India's longstanding reliance on foreign fertiliser technologies, which has imposed significant financial burdens

Whatever technology we have today, especially in fertiliser, is actually borrowed technology. That is not our Indian technology. So for every borrowing, we have to pay a very big price," Chakraborty noted.

The dependency extends beyond initial acquisition costs. "We don't get upgradation with the technology. Then we pay another price for getting the upgradation. But if it is our own, we can keep on developing," he added, highlighting the long-term strategic benefits of indigenous innovation for India's fertiliser sector.