What is nano urea and how is it different from ordinary urea?

Nano urea is a liquid fertiliser in which nitrogen is delivered as urea molecules bound to nano-scale carrier particles (typically 20–50 nanometres). It is applied as a foliar spray — sprayed onto the leaves — rather than broadcast onto the soil. IFFCO Nano Urea (launched 2 June 2021) carries 4% nitrogen by weight, and the newer IFFCO Nano Urea Plus (launched 12 June 2024) carries 20% nitrogen by weight. Conventional prilled or granular urea carries 46% nitrogen and is applied directly to the soil, where a large fraction is lost through volatilisation, leaching and denitrification. Because nano urea is absorbed directly through the leaf stomata and cuticle, IFFCO claims one 500 ml bottle of Nano Urea Plus can substitute one 45 kg bag of granular urea for one topdressing.

What is nano DAP and who makes it in India?

Nano DAP is a liquid fertiliser containing phosphorus (and a small amount of nitrogen) delivered on nano-scale carrier particles for foliar application. IFFCO Nano DAP was granted a three-year notification under the Fertilizer Control Order 1985 on 2 March 2023 by the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, and Coromandel International Limited (CIL) received the Government of India's approval for its own Nano DAP formulation in 2024. Both are 500 ml liquid formulations packaged as replacements — not straight substitutes — for a portion of the 50 kg granular DAP bag traditionally used at sowing and early growth stages.

How much do nano urea and nano DAP cost the farmer?

Because nano fertilisers are sold outside the urea subsidy net and the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) regime, farmers pay the un-subsidised open-market MRP. As of 2024–25, IFFCO Nano Urea Plus retails at ₹225 for a 500 ml bottle and IFFCO Nano DAP retails at ₹600 for a 500 ml bottle at the IFFCO retail counter and cooperative outlets. In comparison, a 45 kg bag of granular urea sells at the statutory MRP of ₹266.50 (subsidised) and a 50 kg bag of DAP at approximately ₹1,350 (post the current NBS rates). Nano fertiliser purchases are also recorded on the DBT-fertiliser POS machine at the retail counter, but do not attract a per-bag subsidy transfer to the manufacturer.

How and when do I actually spray nano urea?

The recommended dose for foliar application is 2–4 ml of nano urea concentrate per litre of spray water, adjusted to a rate of about 250–500 ml per acre for Nano Urea Plus. Two sprays per crop are typical: the first at the active tillering / branching stage (roughly 25–35 days after sowing for cereals) and the second at the panicle initiation / flowering stage, before grain-fill. Spraying should be done in cool morning or evening hours on days without imminent rain, using a fine-droplet nozzle. Nano urea does not replace the basal application of nitrogen — it substitutes the second and third topdressings of granular urea. For drone-sprayed application, the SHG operator will typically dilute 500 ml of nano urea in 20–30 litres of water for one acre and calibrate the drone for a fine, uniform droplet spectrum.

Can nano urea be sprayed by drones under the Namo Drone Didi and SMAM drone schemes?

Yes. Nano urea and nano DAP are among the primary payloads for agri-spray drones supported under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) drone subsidy for individual farmers, FPOs and Custom Hiring Centres, and the central-sector Namo Drone Didi scheme that puts drones in the hands of 15,000 women Self Help Groups. IFFCO and KRIBHCO both run large nano-urea drone-spray demonstration and service campaigns; the Namo Drone Didi operational guidelines explicitly include nano-fertiliser spraying as a core revenue stream for trained SHGs.

Where is the field evidence that nano urea actually works?

IFFCO reports multi-location field trials at 94 sites across India during 2019–21, and independent trials by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), state agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras have been published since. Independent researchers have flagged that some of the yield-substitution claims (that one 500 ml nano-urea bottle fully substitutes one bag of granular urea) require more replicated, peer-reviewed evidence, particularly across soil types and cropping systems. ICAR and state universities are running ongoing evaluations, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras are the closest source of district-level demonstration data for a given crop and season.

Why aren't nano fertilisers cheaper than granular urea if they carry so little nutrient?

Granular urea's low farm-gate price is the outcome of a large central subsidy — the Government of India spent roughly ₹1.75 lakh crore on fertiliser subsidy in FY 2023-24, with urea alone accounting for the majority. That subsidy is paid to manufacturers under the DBT-fertiliser POS system, keeping the farmer's per-bag price at ₹266.50 statutorily. Nano fertilisers, by contrast, are notified under the Fertilizer Control Order but are outside the direct urea subsidy and the Nutrient Based Subsidy for P & K. Farmers pay the market MRP, and the government's incentive route for nano-fertiliser adoption is indirect — through the PM-PRANAM scheme's saved-subsidy sharing with states and through drone-service subsidies under SMAM and Namo Drone Didi.

How does nano-fertiliser adoption tie in with PM-PRANAM?

The PM-PRANAM scheme (Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) approved by the Cabinet on 28 June 2023 gives 50% of the subsidy savings from chemical-fertiliser reduction back to the concerned state as a grant. States that increase adoption of nano fertilisers, natural farming (NMNF), organic farming (PKVY / MOVCDNER) and balanced fertilisation under the Soil Health Card programme reduce their granular urea and DAP offtake — which shrinks the central subsidy bill — and become eligible for a corresponding PM-PRANAM grant. Nano urea and nano DAP are therefore one of the primary tools that states use to progress on the PM-PRANAM metric, alongside neem-coated urea, sulphur-coated urea and micronutrient-balanced fertilisation.

Are there any real drawbacks or open questions with nano fertilisers?

There are three honest concerns a farmer should factor in. First, foliar sprays have narrow application windows — a badly timed spray at flowering during a heat spike, a rain event or high wind can drop the actual absorbed dose sharply. Second, nano urea cannot replace the basal nitrogen requirement of the crop; farmers who cut basal urea sharply on the assumption of full substitution have reported yield loss in some trials. Third, the peer-reviewed evidence base for one-to-one substitution of a full granular urea bag by one 500 ml bottle is still being built; independent multi-location trials are ongoing at ICAR and state agricultural universities. The prudent farmer treats nano urea as a top-dressing substitute layered on top of a properly designed nutrient plan based on a current Soil Health Card, not as a wholesale replacement.

Where can I buy nano urea and nano DAP, and how is it billed at the counter?

Nano fertilisers are sold through the same DBT-fertiliser retail network as granular urea and DAP — IFFCO cooperative outlets, KRIBHCO retail counters, private fertiliser dealers licensed under the Fertilizer Control Order and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). The retailer records the sale on the DBT-fertiliser POS (Point of Sale) machine against the buyer's Aadhaar-linked farmer identity. Unlike granular urea, no per-bag subsidy flows to the manufacturer for nano fertilisers, so the farmer pays the full open-market MRP. Farmers should insist on a printed POS receipt showing product name, batch number and MRP for warranty and traceability.

Nano Urea & Nano DAP Guide — India's Nano-Fertiliser Rollout: IFFCO Nano Urea Plus, IFFCO Nano DAP, CIL Nano DAP, MRP, DBT Subsidy Flow, Foliar Application, Drone Spraying and PM-PRANAM Convergence

India's nano-fertiliser rollout — anchored by IFFCO Nano Urea (notified under the Fertilizer Control Order, 1985 on 2 June 2021), the higher-strength IFFCO Nano Urea Plus (12 June 2024), IFFCO Nano DAP (notified 2 March 2023) and Coromandel International's Nano DAP (approved 2024) — is arguably the biggest fertiliser-policy shift since neem-coated urea. The government's aim is to reduce granular urea and DAP consumption — and therefore the central fertiliser subsidy bill — by getting farmers to substitute a portion of top-dressing with a 500 ml liquid bottle sprayed on the leaves. This guide covers the chemistry, the current products and MRPs, how to spray, how nano fertilisers plug into the Namo Drone Didi, SMAM drone subsidy and PM-PRANAM ecosystem, and the honest limits a farmer should keep in mind before switching acres.

What are nano fertilisers?

A nano fertiliser is a fertiliser formulation in which the nutrient — urea in the case of nano urea, and mono-ammonium phosphate for nano DAP — is delivered as molecules bound to or coated on nano-scale carrier particles, typically 20–50 nanometres in size. At that scale, the particle-to-mass surface area is orders of magnitude higher than in a conventional prilled or granular fertiliser. The formulation is sold as a 500 ml liquid concentrate and applied as a foliar spray, where nutrients enter the leaf through stomata and the cuticular pathway rather than being taken up from the soil by the roots.

The regulatory anchor for commercial notification of nano fertilisers in India is the amendment to the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), 1985, which added an explicit provision for “nano-fertiliser” in 2021. Notification under the FCO is granted for an initial three-year period on the basis of bio-efficacy and safety trial data submitted to the Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, and is subsequently reviewed for renewal.

The four currently notified products

IFFCO Nano Urea (liquid) — 4% N. Launched 2 June 2021 by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO). A 500 ml bottle contains 4% total nitrogen by weight and is claimed by IFFCO to substitute one 45 kg bag of granular urea for one topdressing. This is the original “first-generation” nano urea product.
IFFCO Nano Urea Plus (liquid) — 20% N.Launched 12 June 2024 as the higher-strength “next-generation” product. A 500 ml bottle contains 20% total nitrogen by weight, delivering more nitrogen per bottle than the 4% variant. Nano Urea Plus is now the primary nano-urea offering IFFCO is scaling in production.
IFFCO Nano DAP (liquid). Notified under the FCO on 2 March 2023 for a three-year term. A 500 ml bottle carries 8% total nitrogen and 16% available phosphorus and is claimed by IFFCO as a partial substitute for a 50 kg bag of granular DAP at foliar application windows.
Coromandel International Limited (CIL) Nano DAP. The second Nano DAP formulation to receive Government of India approval; marketed alongside CIL's granular fertiliser portfolio through the Coromandel and Gromor retail network.

Nano vs granular — the honest side-by-side

The single most useful mental model for a farmer is that a nano fertiliser is a top-dressing substitute layered on top of a properly designed nutrient plan, not a full replacement for granular urea or DAP. On most cropping systems, a portion of nitrogen and phosphorus still has to go in at sowing or transplanting; nano urea and nano DAP replace the second and third topdressings that traditionally used granular urea. The side-by-side that matters:

Nitrogen carried per unit. One 45 kg bag of granular urea carries 20.7 kg of N (at 46% N). One 500 ml bottle of Nano Urea Plus carries about 100 g of N (at 20% by weight of ~500 g). The number of bottles required to match the field-level absorbed N of one bag depends entirely on the foliar-uptake efficiency in that soil, crop and weather window.
Application route. Granular urea is broadcast or drilled into the soil, where a substantial fraction is lost to volatilisation, denitrification, leaching and immobilisation. Nano urea is sprayed on the leaves, where the intended fraction is absorbed directly and the losses follow a different pathway (drift, wash-off from unforeseen rainfall, wind).
Farm-gate MRP. A 45 kg bag of urea sells at ₹266.50 (statutory MRP). A 500 ml bottle of IFFCO Nano Urea Plus sells at ₹225 and IFFCO Nano DAP at ₹600 (open-market MRP; no per-bottle subsidy transfer).
Logistics. One 500 ml bottle weighs ~0.6 kg and is shelf-stable in a cool, dry store. A 45 kg bag of urea is bulky, hard to transport on a two-wheeler and needs careful storage against humidity. The logistics benefit is one of the strongest structural cases for nano fertilisers, especially for hill and remote-area farmers.
Environmental profile. Foliar sprays with careful calibration reduce runoff of nitrate into surface water and groundwater and cut ammonia volatilisation losses that follow surface-broadcast urea. The environmental case is one of the key motivations for the PM-PRANAM incentive to states.

How to spray — dosage, timing and safety

The manufacturer's recommended dose for foliar application is 2–4 ml of nano-urea concentrate per litre of spray water, calibrated to a total of about 250–500 ml per acre for Nano Urea Plus. Two sprays per crop are typical:

First spray: active tillering / branching stage. Roughly 25–35 days after sowing for wheat and paddy; at the 4–6 leaf stage for maize; at the branching stage for pulses and oilseeds. The crop should have enough leaf area for the spray to actually land on foliage rather than on bare soil.
Second spray: panicle initiation / flowering / grain-fill. Around 55–65 days after sowing for cereals, before grain-fill; at the flowering stage for pulses and oilseeds; at the boll-formation stage for cotton.

Time the spray for the cool morning (5:30–9:00 AM) or the late evening (4:30–6:30 PM), when the stomata are open and leaf temperatures are moderate. Avoid spraying when strong afternoon wind would drift the aerosol off the field, or when rain is forecast within 4–6 hours of the spray — early rainfall washes off the spray before the leaf can complete uptake. Use a fine-droplet nozzle (flat-fan, hollow-cone or the drone-native rotary nozzle) to get a uniform droplet spectrum; large droplets increase runoff.

Nano urea can be tank-mixed with most commonly used water- soluble fertilisers and with most agrochemicals recommended for the same crop stage, but a small jar-test compatibility check is worth ten minutes of the farmer's time before mixing a full spray tank — especially with plant-growth regulators or highly alkaline solutions. Standard protective gear (mask, gloves, full-sleeve clothing) is required, same as any other agrochemical spray.

Nano fertilisers and the drone-spray channel

The drone-service ecosystem that has come up over the last two years is one of the most important delivery channels for nano fertilisers. Two central schemes back it:

Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) — subsidises the purchase of agri-spray drones by individual farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, Custom Hiring Centres and agriculture graduates at 40–50% for the general category, and up to 80% for North- East, hilly, SC/ST, women and small / marginal farmers.
Namo Drone Didi — a central-sector scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on 28 November 2023 that puts DGCA-compliant spray drones in the hands of 15,000 women Self Help Groups with an 80% subsidy capped at ₹8 lakh per SHG. Spraying nano urea and nano DAP for local farmers is an explicit revenue stream under the scheme's operational guidelines.

IFFCO and KRIBHCO both run large nano-urea drone-spray demonstration and service campaigns. For the SHG or CHC operator, one 500 ml bottle of nano urea is typically diluted in 20–30 litres of clean water per acre and sprayed at 10–12 metres above the canopy with the drone calibrated for a fine, uniform droplet spectrum. A well-trained pilot can typically cover 30–40 acres per day in the peak spray window.

Subsidy, DBT and the PM-PRANAM link

Nano fertilisers sit deliberately outside the two big fertiliser subsidy nets — the urea subsidy, which pays the manufacturer the difference between the notified cost of production and the statutory MRP of ₹266.50 per 45 kg bag, and the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for P, K, S and other non- urea fertilisers. That's not an accident. The government's design is to shift a portion of nitrogen and phosphorus demand off the subsidised granular channel and onto the un-subsidised nano channel, and then to share the saved subsidy with states that make the shift.

That subsidy-sharing route is the PM-PRANAM scheme (Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth), approved by the Cabinet on 28 June 2023. Under PM-PRANAM, states that reduce chemical-fertiliser consumption — measured against a 3-year moving average baseline — receive 50% of the saved central subsidy as a grant, to be spent on natural farming, balanced fertilisation and rural infrastructure. Nano fertiliser adoption, alongside neem- and sulphur-coated urea, natural farming under NMNF and organic farming under PKVY, is one of the primary levers a state uses to progress on the PM-PRANAM metric.

At the farmer's end, nano-fertiliser purchases are still recorded on the DBT-fertiliser POS (Point of Sale) machine at the retail counter — the same POS that captures granular urea and DAP sales — against the buyer's Aadhaar-linked farmer identity. This gives the Department of Fertilizers a complete picture of the granular-to-nano substitution happening on the ground, district by district.

What the field trials say (and don't say)

IFFCO has published field-trial data from 94 sites across India during 2019–21 in support of the Nano Urea notification, and multi-location trials by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) system, State Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras have been published on paddy, wheat, maize, cotton, sugarcane and several vegetable crops since 2021. The broad direction of that evidence is that a 50% substitution of top-dressing granular urea with nano urea, layered on top of a well-designed basal N application, holds yield in most trial sites, and that farmers report reduced input handling and labour cost. The picture on full 1-to-1 substitution of one 500 ml bottle for one bag of granular urea across all soils and cropping systems is still under active evaluation, with independent researchers calling for more replicated, peer-reviewed data.

The prudent farmer treats nano urea as a proven, useful top-dressing substitute and asks the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) or extension officer for the trial-observed substitution ratio for their specific crop, soil type and season before scaling up. Every farmer should hold a current Soil Health Card to inform the basal nutrient plan the nano-urea top-dressing is layered on.

Where nano fertilisers fit — and where they don't

Fit well: Small and marginal farmers with logistics constraints on carrying granular bags; hill and NER farmers where per- bag transport is expensive; foliar top-dressing at active tillering / branching and flowering stages; drone-sprayed service in FPO- and SHG-served clusters; farmers who want to reduce fertiliser runoff on farms near water bodies.
Don't yet fit: Full replacement of basal nitrogen application; crops with a very short leaf-area window early in the season; farms where spray-timing discipline is difficult; farmers on a legacy fertiliser plan that has not yet been aligned to a current Soil Health Card.

Common pitfalls

Cutting basal urea sharply on the assumption that nano urea will fully substitute. Nano urea substitutes top-dressing, not the basal N. Cutting basal N sharply causes early-season deficiency that top-dressing alone cannot fully recover.
Spraying at the wrong time of day. Mid-day sprays (11:00–15:00) waste concentrate: stomata are half-closed, drift is high and leaf temperatures are hostile to uptake.
Ignoring impending rain. A rain event within 4–6 hours of the spray washes off the concentrate. Check the forecast and plan around it.
Buying without a POS receipt. Every legitimate nano- fertiliser sale goes through the DBT-fertiliser POS machine at the counter. Insist on a printed POS receipt with product name, batch and MRP for warranty and traceability.
Skipping the jar test before tank-mixing nano urea with an agrochemical or a growth regulator. Compatibility issues do occur, and a jar test costs ten minutes.

How to buy

Nano fertilisers are sold at every regular fertiliser retail counter that runs on the DBT-fertiliser POS system:

IFFCO cooperative outlets and KRIBHCO retail counters — the primary channels for IFFCO Nano Urea Plus and IFFCO Nano DAP.
Private fertiliser dealers licensed under the Fertilizer Control Order — most stock IFFCO and CIL nano fertilisers alongside granular products.
Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) — the village-level cooperatives that also service Kisan Credit Card seasonal input loans; a farmer with a valid Kisan Credit Card can typically bill nano- fertiliser purchases against the seasonal limit.
IFFCO Bazaar and other authorised cooperative e-commerce channels — for direct home delivery in serviced pincodes.

Where to read more

fert.nic.in — Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers; Fertilizer Control Order notifications and nano-fertiliser approval press releases.
iffco.in — IFFCO product pages, nano-urea and nano-DAP field-trial reports and the IFFCO Bazaar retail channel.
kribhco.net — KRIBHCO product pages and nano-urea drone-spray campaign updates.
icar.org.in — ICAR institute publications on nano-fertiliser field trials, and the ICAR-IARI multi-location evaluation programme.
pib.gov.in — Press Information Bureau releases on the Cabinet approval of Nano Urea, Nano DAP, PM-PRANAM (28 June 2023) and Namo Drone Didi (28 November 2023).
PM-PRANAM deep-dive guide — the subsidy-saving grant to states that adopt nano fertilisers, natural farming and balanced fertilisation.
Namo Drone Didi deep-dive guide — the women-SHG drone-service channel that carries nano-fertiliser sprays to the field.
Soil Health Card guide — the current soil-test basis on which any nano-fertiliser top-dressing plan should be built.

Frequently asked questions

What is nano urea and how is it different from ordinary urea?: Nano urea is a liquid fertiliser in which nitrogen is delivered as urea molecules bound to nano-scale carrier particles (typically 20–50 nanometres). It is applied as a foliar spray — sprayed onto the leaves — rather than broadcast onto the soil. IFFCO Nano Urea (launched 2 June 2021) carries 4% nitrogen by weight, and the newer IFFCO Nano Urea Plus (launched 12 June 2024) carries 20% nitrogen by weight. Conventional prilled or granular urea carries 46% nitrogen and is applied directly to the soil, where a large fraction is lost through volatilisation, leaching and denitrification. Because nano urea is absorbed directly through the leaf stomata and cuticle, IFFCO claims one 500 ml bottle of Nano Urea Plus can substitute one 45 kg bag of granular urea for one topdressing.
What is nano DAP and who makes it in India?: Nano DAP is a liquid fertiliser containing phosphorus (and a small amount of nitrogen) delivered on nano-scale carrier particles for foliar application. IFFCO Nano DAP was granted a three-year notification under the Fertilizer Control Order 1985 on 2 March 2023 by the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, and Coromandel International Limited (CIL) received the Government of India's approval for its own Nano DAP formulation in 2024. Both are 500 ml liquid formulations packaged as replacements — not straight substitutes — for a portion of the 50 kg granular DAP bag traditionally used at sowing and early growth stages.
How much do nano urea and nano DAP cost the farmer?: Because nano fertilisers are sold outside the urea subsidy net and the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) regime, farmers pay the un-subsidised open-market MRP. As of 2024–25, IFFCO Nano Urea Plus retails at ₹225 for a 500 ml bottle and IFFCO Nano DAP retails at ₹600 for a 500 ml bottle at the IFFCO retail counter and cooperative outlets. In comparison, a 45 kg bag of granular urea sells at the statutory MRP of ₹266.50 (subsidised) and a 50 kg bag of DAP at approximately ₹1,350 (post the current NBS rates). Nano fertiliser purchases are also recorded on the DBT-fertiliser POS machine at the retail counter, but do not attract a per-bag subsidy transfer to the manufacturer.
How and when do I actually spray nano urea?: The recommended dose for foliar application is 2–4 ml of nano urea concentrate per litre of spray water, adjusted to a rate of about 250–500 ml per acre for Nano Urea Plus. Two sprays per crop are typical: the first at the active tillering / branching stage (roughly 25–35 days after sowing for cereals) and the second at the panicle initiation / flowering stage, before grain-fill. Spraying should be done in cool morning or evening hours on days without imminent rain, using a fine-droplet nozzle. Nano urea does not replace the basal application of nitrogen — it substitutes the second and third topdressings of granular urea. For drone-sprayed application, the SHG operator will typically dilute 500 ml of nano urea in 20–30 litres of water for one acre and calibrate the drone for a fine, uniform droplet spectrum.
Can nano urea be sprayed by drones under the Namo Drone Didi and SMAM drone schemes?: Yes. Nano urea and nano DAP are among the primary payloads for agri-spray drones supported under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) drone subsidy for individual farmers, FPOs and Custom Hiring Centres, and the central-sector Namo Drone Didi scheme that puts drones in the hands of 15,000 women Self Help Groups. IFFCO and KRIBHCO both run large nano-urea drone-spray demonstration and service campaigns; the Namo Drone Didi operational guidelines explicitly include nano-fertiliser spraying as a core revenue stream for trained SHGs.
Where is the field evidence that nano urea actually works?: IFFCO reports multi-location field trials at 94 sites across India during 2019–21, and independent trials by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), state agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras have been published since. Independent researchers have flagged that some of the yield-substitution claims (that one 500 ml nano-urea bottle fully substitutes one bag of granular urea) require more replicated, peer-reviewed evidence, particularly across soil types and cropping systems. ICAR and state universities are running ongoing evaluations, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras are the closest source of district-level demonstration data for a given crop and season.
Why aren't nano fertilisers cheaper than granular urea if they carry so little nutrient?: Granular urea's low farm-gate price is the outcome of a large central subsidy — the Government of India spent roughly ₹1.75 lakh crore on fertiliser subsidy in FY 2023-24, with urea alone accounting for the majority. That subsidy is paid to manufacturers under the DBT-fertiliser POS system, keeping the farmer's per-bag price at ₹266.50 statutorily. Nano fertilisers, by contrast, are notified under the Fertilizer Control Order but are outside the direct urea subsidy and the Nutrient Based Subsidy for P & K. Farmers pay the market MRP, and the government's incentive route for nano-fertiliser adoption is indirect — through the PM-PRANAM scheme's saved-subsidy sharing with states and through drone-service subsidies under SMAM and Namo Drone Didi.
How does nano-fertiliser adoption tie in with PM-PRANAM?: The PM-PRANAM scheme (Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) approved by the Cabinet on 28 June 2023 gives 50% of the subsidy savings from chemical-fertiliser reduction back to the concerned state as a grant. States that increase adoption of nano fertilisers, natural farming (NMNF), organic farming (PKVY / MOVCDNER) and balanced fertilisation under the Soil Health Card programme reduce their granular urea and DAP offtake — which shrinks the central subsidy bill — and become eligible for a corresponding PM-PRANAM grant. Nano urea and nano DAP are therefore one of the primary tools that states use to progress on the PM-PRANAM metric, alongside neem-coated urea, sulphur-coated urea and micronutrient-balanced fertilisation.
Are there any real drawbacks or open questions with nano fertilisers?: There are three honest concerns a farmer should factor in. First, foliar sprays have narrow application windows — a badly timed spray at flowering during a heat spike, a rain event or high wind can drop the actual absorbed dose sharply. Second, nano urea cannot replace the basal nitrogen requirement of the crop; farmers who cut basal urea sharply on the assumption of full substitution have reported yield loss in some trials. Third, the peer-reviewed evidence base for one-to-one substitution of a full granular urea bag by one 500 ml bottle is still being built; independent multi-location trials are ongoing at ICAR and state agricultural universities. The prudent farmer treats nano urea as a top-dressing substitute layered on top of a properly designed nutrient plan based on a current Soil Health Card, not as a wholesale replacement.
Where can I buy nano urea and nano DAP, and how is it billed at the counter?: Nano fertilisers are sold through the same DBT-fertiliser retail network as granular urea and DAP — IFFCO cooperative outlets, KRIBHCO retail counters, private fertiliser dealers licensed under the Fertilizer Control Order and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). The retailer records the sale on the DBT-fertiliser POS (Point of Sale) machine against the buyer's Aadhaar-linked farmer identity. Unlike granular urea, no per-bag subsidy flows to the manufacturer for nano fertilisers, so the farmer pays the full open-market MRP. Farmers should insist on a printed POS receipt showing product name, batch number and MRP for warranty and traceability.

Product prices, notification dates and dosage guidance summarised from publicly available information on fert.nic.in, iffco.in, kribhco.net, ICAR publications and PIB releases on the Fertilizer Control Order amendments, IFFCO Nano Urea launch (2 June 2021), IFFCO Nano Urea Plus launch (12 June 2024), IFFCO Nano DAP notification (2 March 2023) and Cabinet approvals of PM-PRANAM (28 June 2023) and Namo Drone Didi (28 November 2023). MRP, dosage and field-trial evidence are subject to revision; farmers should verify current terms with their nearest IFFCO / KRIBHCO outlet, Krishi Vigyan Kendra and state agriculture department before scaling nano-fertiliser use across the operation.