Cabinet raises rabi fertiliser subsidy 64% to ₹62,370 crore, clears ₹3,230 crore museum

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, November 11, approved ₹62,370 crore in nutrient-based subsidy for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the rabi season of 2026-27, about ₹24,418 crore more than the ₹37,952 crore it cleared for the previous rabi, a rise of roughly 64%. The same meeting extended the Stand-Up India scheme by five years and approved a ₹3,230 crore museum in New Delhi’s North and South Block.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw briefed the media on the decisions. The government said the new rates would keep fertilisers available to farmers at subsidised and affordable prices at a time when global prices have moved up.

What the subsidy covers

The revised rates apply from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, which covers the rabi sowing season, when wheat, pulses and oilseeds are the main crops. The Cabinet note cited recent trends in the international prices of urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash and sulphur. The nutrient-based subsidy scheme has been in place since April 1, 2010, and covers 28 grades of P&K fertilisers, including DAP and the NPKS complexes.

Subsidy per kg of nutrient, rabi 2026-27

• ₹94.21nitrogen
• ₹66.11phosphorus
• ₹2.38potash
• ₹10.42sulphur

DAP, the most widely used phosphatic fertiliser, continues to reach farmers at ₹1,350 per 50 kg bag, with the special support on top of the nutrient-based rate. Makers of sulphur-based fertilisers get support equal to 20% of their actual procurement cost, subject to floor prices of $800 a tonne for sulphur and $266.67 a tonne for sulphuric acid.

Stocks and demand

Vaishnaw put the rabi requirement at about 35 million tonnes of fertilisers. Stocks stood at 23.52 million tonnes on Tuesday against 17.35 million tonnes a year earlier. That includes 10.31 million tonnes of urea (7.21 million a year ago), 2.86 million tonnes of DAP (2.48 million) and 6.08 million tonnes of NPK grades (4.24 million).

Stocks are therefore about a third higher than a year ago, though still short of the stated requirement, which the rest of the season’s supplies will have to meet.

Cost to the exchequer

The 64% jump raises the pressure on the fertiliser line of the 2026-27 budget and may require additional allocation. The ₹62,370 crore is a tentative budgetary requirement, so the final bill will depend on how much fertiliser is actually sold under the six-month rates.

Museum in North and South Block

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum at an estimated cost of ₹3,230 crore, as appraised by the Public Investment Board. The museum will be created by reusing the historic North and South Block complex, with about 1,78,509 square metres of built-up area.

The government said the adaptive reuse would preserve the architectural and heritage character of the buildings while turning them into a public cultural institution. It will use contemporary museum practice, immersive technology and visitor-focused interpretation to present the continuity and diversity of Indian civilisation, covering both tangible and intangible heritage. It was benchmarked against major international museums and is described as set to have the largest display area of any museum in the world.

Prime Minister Modi had announced the project on May 18, 2023. The reports of the decision gave no completion date or construction schedule.

Stand-Up India and the micro-units guarantee fund

The Cabinet extended Stand-Up India to March 31, 2031, with a credit guarantee corpus of ₹4,111 crore. The scheme, launched in April 2016, offers loans above ₹10 lakh and up to ₹1 crore to women and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs starting new businesses in manufacturing, services, trading and agriculture-allied activities. It aims to reach at least 2.5 lakh additional entrepreneurs over five years, an average of two loans per bank branch, one to a woman and one to an SC or ST entrepreneur.

Term loans, or a mix of term loan and working capital, can cover up to 85% of project cost. The guarantee covers 85% of the loan amount and the guarantee fee is standardised at 0.5%, with no additional risk premium. According to the government, the scheme has so far facilitated loans to more than 2.75 lakh women, SC and ST entrepreneurs.

The programme was designed to help SC, ST and women entrepreneurs start their own businesses. It has been very successful, which is why its continuation for another five years was approved today.

Source: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister, November 11, 2026

The Cabinet also extended the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units by five years to March 2031. The fund, set up in January 2016 and linked to the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, protects lenders against defaults on loans to micro units through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited. According to reports of the briefing, its corpus is ₹5,000 crore, meant to facilitate Mudra loans of ₹12.6 lakh crore. As of September 2026, lenders had sanctioned more than 60.36 crore loans worth ₹43.34 lakh crore under the scheme.

Why it matters

For farmers, the subsidy rates decide what a bag of DAP or a complex fertiliser costs at the retail counter during sowing. For the budget, a ₹24,418 crore increase in one season is a large addition to a subsidy bill the government itself links to international prices of urea, DAP, potash and sulphur. For small entrepreneurs, the guarantee extensions keep banks covered when they lend without collateral.

What happens next

The new nutrient rates are already in force from October 1, so companies will be paid at the revised levels for supplies through March 31, 2027. The government has not yet announced a construction timeline for the museum. Stand-Up India lending continues under the extended scheme until March 31, 2031.