Previous Year Question
With reference to chemical fertilisers in India, consider the following statements.
At present, the retail price of chemical fertilisers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.
Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertiliser, is a by-product of oil refineries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Only 1
2 and 3
Only 2
1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The retail prices of all chemical fertilizers in India are not entirely market-driven.
The maximum retail price of urea is fixed and controlled by the Government.
The Government provides subsidies to fertilizer producers to make urea available to farmers at the prescribed price.
Phosphatic and potassic fertilizers are covered under the Nutrient-Based Subsidy system.
Companies may determine the prices of these fertilizers, but the Government plays a role through subsidy, monitoring and policy control.
Therefore, it is not correct to state that the prices of chemical fertilizers are not administered by the Government. Hence, Statement 1 is not correct.
Ammonia has the chemical formula NH₃ and is a major input in urea production.
The hydrogen required for ammonia production is generally obtained through the steam-methane reforming of natural gas.
Hydrogen is then reacted with atmospheric nitrogen through the Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia.
Urea is produced through a reaction between ammonia and carbon dioxide. Therefore, Statement 2 is correct.
Crude oil and natural gas may contain sulphur-bearing compounds.
During refining, sulphur is removed from fuels, and elemental sulphur may be recovered as a by-product.
Therefore, sulphur is an important by-product of oil refining and natural-gas processing.
Sulphur is used to manufacture sulphuric acid, which is used to produce phosphoric acid from phosphate rock. Therefore, Statement 3 is correct.
Phosphoric acid is used in the production of DAP, MAP and other phosphatic fertilizers.