Union Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah performed Bhumi Pujan and laid the foundation stone of the fifth unit of IFFCO Nano Urea Plant at Deoghar, Jharkhand . The local MP Nishikant Dubey, IFFCO Chairman Dilip Sanghani and MD Dr U S Awasthi were present on this occasion on Saturday, among others.
In his address, Shah said that with the construction of the Deoghar unit, about 6 crore liquid urea bottles will be manufactured here every year, which will reduce our dependence on the import of Urea and India will become self- reliant. Shah also talked about the importance of Liquid urea and referred to the PM’s stress on conservation of soils.
Shah said that the research work to develop Nano liquid urea has been done for the conservation of Mother Earth. Chemical fertilizer kills the earthworms present in the soil which produce manure naturally, while the spraying of liquid urea will not make the soil toxic. He explained how a small bottle of 500 ml would become a substitute for a full bag of urea.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that today liquid urea is being exported to 5 countries. He said that this liquid urea made by IFFCO will not only help the farmers of India but also of the world. Shah made special mention of IFFCO MD’s efforts in developing the Nano range of fertilizers and said that he had been watching Awasthi’s efforts in this direction for the last 8-10 years.
He said that IFFCO, a farmers’ cooperative, has made liquid Nano urea for the first time in the world and is now moving towards DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate). It is a matter of pride for India and the entire cooperative sector.
On the occasion, Shah also listed the new initiatives of his Ministry and budgetary provisions for the cooperative sector. He said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced several schemes in the budget to promote cooperatives. The rate of income tax has been reduced from 26% to 15% for new cooperative units in the manufacturing sector.
The Cooperation Minister said that after the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation, a data bank of
Lamenting the current status of storage system Shah said that now modern Godowns with storage capacity of two to five thousand tonnes will be built in every Tehsil, so that the farmers’ produce will be stored at the Tehsil itself and from there it will be distributed to the poor in the form of mid-day meals and free grains in the same Tehsil, which will reduce transportation cost by 80%. It would be the world’s largest cooperative food storage scheme.
Shah also referred to a recent MoU signed with an aim to make PACS as a community centre; now 300 services of Government of India and State Governments will be available through PACS, such as birth-death registration, air-train ticket booking, banking etc, he added.
Earlier, Amit Shah offered prayers at Baba Baidyanath Temple and prayed for the progress and prosperity of the country.
