'The Economy Seems to Be on the Brink of a Major Crisis - We Must Reduce the Fertiliser Subsidy'

In an interview to discuss the cumulative impact of the Gulf War on Indian agriculture, Ashok Gulati, Professor of Agriculture at ICRIER and arguably India's foremost authority on the subject, says: “The economy seems to be on the brink of a major crisis". Professor Gulati is particularly concerned about how the fertiliser subsidy is likely to surge this year. He believes that it could balloon from 1.71 lakh crore to 3.0 lakh crore. He also points out that the cost at which urea is imported is $935 per tonne but it's sold at $70 per tonne. Professor Gulati points out that the time has come to end such freebies and he proposes three reforms which would help reduce the fertiliser subsidy.