CCI approves subscription to 15.01% equity of Ambit Wealth by Daiwa International (See 'Corp Brief') India, Bhutan to strengthen Cooperation in Power Sector (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') CCI okays AXDI LDII SPV to acquire shares of Aadhar Housing Finance (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Unless resolution is approved by NCLT, matter under PMLA for attachment of property may proceed even against corporate debtor: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') SAIL, RITES sign MoU for diesel locomotive leasing and maintenance (See 'Corp Brief') Paswan calls for countering Misinformation on Processed Foods (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - If public authority holds any information in form of data, statistics, abstracts, etc. an applicant can have access to same under RTI Act subject to exemptions u/s 8: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') Horticulture output reaches 367.72 million tonnes in 2024–25: Chouhan (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Contention of Noticees cannot be accepted as ground to seek exoneration qua their liability regarding failure to comply with regulatory limits: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') HLC on banking to align financial sector growth to Viksit Bharat (See 'Corp Brief') Infra Risk Guarantee Fund to instil confidence in private developers (See 'Corp Brief') Shares buyback to be taxed as capital gains for all categories of shareholders (See 'Corp Brief') IIFT achieves 1st Position in Times B-School Ranking 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Centre to enable States to establish regional medical hubs for tourism (See 'Corp Brief') Budget lays emphasis on scaling up manufacturing in 7 strategic sectors (See 'Corp Brief') Competition Act - intervention of CCI not warranted where allegations contained in Information are vague, sweeping & unsupported by material particulars necessary to establish contravention of Sections 3 or 4 of the Act: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') Interest accrued on motor accident compensation will no longer attract TDS (See 'Corp Brief') FM proposes uniform MAT Treatment for non-resident opting for Presumptive Tax (See 'Corp Brief') Tax certainty for non-resident individuals (See 'Corp Brief') Govt. revised criteria for Inter-Group loan exclusion from 'Dividend' definition (See 'Corp Brief') FDI Limit in Insurance Sector raised to 100%, subject to full domestic investment of premiums (See 'Corp Brief') Govt to facilitate ICAI, ICSI, ICMAI to run short-term know-how courses for youth (See 'Corp Brief') Government to set up 'BharatTradeNet' as Unified Digital Platform for international trade (See 'Corp Brief') Sovereign Gold Bond Capital Gains exemption to apply only to original holders at maturity (See 'Corp Brief') CSIR-NIO's Vizag Centre to play key role in offshore energy: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') FEMA - Statement recorded u/s 37 of FEMA did not amount to confession of criminal offence: HC (See 'Legal Desk') International Olympic Academy Director impressed by India's vision for sports (See 'Corp Brief') WB ranks India among top 5 in terms of private investment in infra (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - In absence of explicit permission/exemption with respect to RFQ requirements, Noticee should have suspended its services if it was not feasible to engage large amounts of funds into working capital: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') Survey: India should focus on application-based AI tools (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - NCLT can't decide title disputes over assets, including IPRs such as trademarks, unless they have direct & proximate nexus with insolvency resolution process: SC (See 'Legal Desk') UNCTAD ranks India as leading economy in trade partner diversification (See 'Corp Brief') 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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