With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements:
1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered
by the Government.
2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for Phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of oil
refineries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer:
(b)
CA
The Government of India subsidizes fertilizers to ensure that fertilizers are easily available to farmers and the country remains self-sufficient in agriculture. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. Synthetic ammonia (NH3) refers to ammonia that has been synthesized (Standard Industrial Classification 2873) from natural gas. Hence, statement 2 is correct. Sulphur is a major by-product of oil refining and gas processing. Most crude oil grades contain some sulphur, most of which must be removed during the refining process to meet strict sulphur content limits in refined products. Hence, statement 3 is correct. Therefore, the correct answer is (b).