RBI rolls out measures to strengthen Cooperative Banks' Financial Health (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Applications for extending arbitral tribunal's mandate u/s 29A(4) must be filed exclusively before principal civil court of original jurisdiction: SC (See 'Legal Desk') IWAI facilitates ODC Movement via Inland Waterways to Boost Assam's Semiconductor Ecosystem (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Arbitral proceedings are set to commence on date of receipt of notice invoking arbitration clause: SC (See 'Legal Desk') A&C - Under pre-2015 amendment regime, once party consents to court order appointing arbitrator, they cannot subsequently challenge existence or validity of arbitration clause before arbitral tribunal: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Prasada inaugurates STQC Lab Automation Portal 'SATYA' (See 'Corp Brief') Indian Delegation visits Vietnam to Open New Opportunities in Silk, Sericulture & Handloom (See 'Corp Brief') Paswan releases Plastic Industry Status Report 2025 (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Mark - prior user rights override subsequent registration, particularly where adoption of deceptively similar subsequent trade mark, is not bona fide & is aimed at riding on existing goodwill of existing trade mark: HC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI registered 54 cases of anti-competitive practices in 2025 (See 'Corp Brief') National Institute of Ayurveda reaffirms role as global centre for education & patient care (See 'Corp Brief') Electronic Interlocking rolled out at 34 Railway Stations of N-E (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Objectives of enacting PMLA 2002, was attachment and confiscation of proceeds of crime which is quintessence so as to combat evil of money-laundering: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') Khelo India Multipurpose Hall at SAI Sambhajinagar is addition to Olympic readiness: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') PM addresses community programme in Kuala Lumpur (See 'Corp Brief') A & C - mandate of arbitrators appointed unilaterally by one party, merits being terminated, where the other party explicitly refuses to waive applicability of Section 12(5) of the Act: HC (See 'Legal Desk') India-US Trade Agreement: Major boost for Textile Industry (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - In unavailability of adequate document/information and considering effect of limitation period, assigning of 'zero' value to trade receivables, without any due justification, is not appropriate: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') India has signed MoUs with 23 countries for cooperation on Digital Public Infrastructure (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Once arbitral tribunal has adopted plausible & reasonable interpretation of facts and contractual terms, courts cannot re-appreciate evidence or sit in appeal over award: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways inspects All Bridges Twice a Year (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Permitting a civil suit to challenge an award confirmed by the Supreme Court would undermine the arbitral framework and public confidence in arbitration: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Over 1.25 lakh Livestock Farmers joined Virtual Awareness Program: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') A & C - Referral court not required to conduct detailed or contested inquiry & must limit itself to ascertaining whether underlying contract contains an arbitration clause covering disputes between the parties: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Pariksha Pe Charcha marks First-Ever multi-location nationwide engagement (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - If Noticee violated regulation 23(1) and 23(4) of LODR Regulations as alleged in SCN, Noticee is liable for payment of monetary penalty in terms of section 15HB of SEBI Act: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') TRAI issues Telecommunication Services Interconnection Regulations, 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Marks - Procedural defects & inadvertent errors which are curable should not be permitted to defeat substantive rights, unless shown to be deliberate, mala fide, or prejudicial to opposite party: HC (See 'Legal Desk') The Securities Markets Code, 2025: Strengthened Enforcement, Weakened Accountability? (See 'CORP EINSICHT')

Potassium derived from Molasses can be used by farmers: Minister

Published: Feb 05, 2025

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 05, 2025: POTASSIUM Derived from Molasses (PDM) is a by-product of sugar industry. PDM has minimum 14.5% potash and can be used by farmers in field as an alternative to MOP (Muriate of Potash with 60% potash content). Thus, PDM can reduce the dependence on imported potash. PDM was notified under Fertilizer Control Order (1985) in 2009, and in order to incentivize the use of PDM, it was inducted under Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme since Rabi, 2022. During 2024-25, Rs. 345 per tonne of subsidy has been fixed for PDM.

Potash and Glauconite(Potassic mineral) have been classified as Critical and Strategic Minerals under "The Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment (MMDR) Act, 2023" by Ministry of Mines which aims to enhance domestic production and achieve self- sufficiency in critical minerals. MMDR Act, 1957 ensure that critical minerals are produced, processed, and recycled by catalyzing investments from governments and the private sector across the full value chain, emphasizing the importance of sustainable and responsible mineral management practices. The Central Government has also commenced the auction of mineral blocks for critical & strategic minerals as per provisions of MMDR Act, 1957. As on 10.12.2024, Ministry of Mines have successfully auctioned 5 mineral blocks of Glauconite(Potassic mineral).

Chemical sector is broadly de-regulated and delicensed sector. The manufacturing, import, export, transportation etc. of Ammonium Nitrate are being regulated by Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012. Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) issues licenses for manufacture, storage, transportation, import and export of Ammonium Nitrate under these rules. The licenses for manufacturing of Ammonium Nitrate are issued based on Industrial Licenses issued by Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT).

 In Budget 2024-25, Basic Custom Duty (BCD) on Ammonium Nitrate has been increased from 7.5% to 10% to support existing and new capacities in pipeline. Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), Department of Commerce provides a level playing platform to the domestic industry against the adverse impact of the unfair trade practices viz. dumping, actionable subsidies, circumvention etc. from any exporting country by using effective Trade Remedial measures such as anti-dumping and safeguard measures. However, currently, there are no pending applications seeking  protection in terms of import barriers like anti-dumping duty or countervailing duty/anti-subsidy duty on Ammonium Nitrate.

The Government has approved the Market Development Assistance (MDA) @ Rs. 1500/MT to promote organic fertilizers, i.e. manure produced at plants under GOBARdhan initiative covering different Biogas/CBG support schemes/programmes of stakeholder Ministries/Departments such as Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), ‘Waste to Energy' programme of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) of Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), etc. with total outlay of Rs. 1451.84 crore (FY 2023-24 to 2025-26), which includes a corpus of Rs. 360 crore for research gap funding, etc.

Further, Institute of Pesticides Formulation and Technology works on supporting adoption of greener technologies and development of user & environment friendly new pesticide formulations. UNIDO FARM (Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management) Project undertaken by HIL (India) Ltd. to detoxify the agriculture sector by eliminating the use of highly hazardous pesticides and Persistent Organic Pollutants. The project focuses on three types of bio-pesticides: Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki), Neem, and Trichoderma spp. Btk, a strain of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which is e?ective for controlling caterpillar pests, while Neem controls a wide range of insect pests. Trichoderma provides e?ective control against soil-borne fungal diseases and enhances plant growth.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Anupriya Patel in Rajya Sabha in written reply to a question yesterday.

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