Page 131 - CW E-Magazine (18-6-2024)

Fertilisers
Top Stories

TRENDS ling nucleation and growth kinetics.
There is lack of a large scale produc-
India’s urea production estimated to rise by 6% to 24-mt
tion method and separation technology
from nanorods and nanoparticles. The
India’s urea produc- Department of Ferti- put,” Mr. Bishnoi added. Earlier this
yield has to be high as the raw materials
tion is estimated to in- lisers has taken vari- year, the Cabinet had approved the
are expensive.”
crease by more than 6% ous initiatives which pooling of gas for all urea plants under
to 24-mt in this fi scal on will defi nitely result in which gas will be provided to all plants
The continuous process developed
the back of new policy raising domestic urea at one uniform price. The government
by CSIR-NCL has received inter-
initiatives, a top Ferti- output,” Fertiliser Se- had also approved the new urea policy,
national attention and been granted three
liser Ministry offi cial has cretary Mr. Anuj Bish- which emphasizes on improving en-
patents.
said. Urea production has noi said. The Secretary ergy effi ciency.
been stagnant at around added that in last fi scal, Thixotropy in the time of 3D printing
22-mt for last few years, urea production was at Urea is a controlled commodity
Prof. Yogesh Joshi, Indian Institute
whereas demand has ri- 22.6-mt, which is esti- and its price is fi xed at Rs. 5,360 per
of Technology – Kanpur, dwelt on his
sen to about 30-mt. The difference is mated to reach 24.0-mt this year.“The tonne. The difference between cost of
group’s work on thixotropy – the property
met through imports. policy initiatives like gas pooling and production and selling price is paid as
of certain gels or fl uids that are viscous
incentivising the energy effi ciency subsidy to manufacturers. The govern-
Speakers from academia with Prof. Joshi under normal conditions, but fl ow when
“Following the government’s agen- measures under the new urea policy ment wants to reduce its dependence on
Touching briefl y on his work in the Chemical Laboratory, Pune, outlined shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed.
da of promoting ‘Make in India’, the will yield good results in terms of out- imports.
The subject has seen a resurgence of inte-
area of targeted drug delivery, Prof. his work on the development of a con-
Mitragotri noted that the human body tinuous microwave-based process for rest thanks to the advent of 3D or addi-
FORMALISATION
is designed to carry out its metabolic the synthesis of silver nanowires, which tive printing, and requires a very critical
CCEA approves special banking arrangement for
rheological examination of materials.
activities and not drugs. Immune cells, have many applications of which fl exi-
he noted, are however very capable of ble touch screens for mobile devices
payment of outstanding subsidy Focus on maximising effi ciencies
getting to any tissue, and can be engi-
are most important.
neered to serve as mules carrying Dr. Parasuveera Uppara, UPL Ltd.,
“backpacks” that go for a ride. Such The markets for these are expected touched upon Prof. Joshi’s contributions
The Cabinet Commit-
This has already Rs. 64.03-crore was paid to the banks.
delivery systems have been designed to grow from about 5-tonnes in 2018 to as a technical advisor to his company,
tee on Economic Affairs been implemented/ope- Government is making available fer-
to treat brain injuries, cancers, multiple about 11-tonnes in 2025, but the tech-
which is amongst the world’s leading
(CCEA) chaired by the rationalized to over- tilizers, namely urea and 22 grades of
sclerosis, autoimmune diseases, etc., nology is closely held. “This area offers manufacturers of agrochemicals.
Prime Minister Narendra immense scope to Chemical Engineers, P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidized
come the liquidity prob-
but further research is needed to ad-
Modi, has given its ex-post as pH plays a major rule in control- He cited the successful development
lems of the fertilizer prices through fertilizer manufactures/
vance the studies to trials on humans.
facto approval for a Spe- companies. Under the importers. For making funds available
cial Banking Arrangement above SBA, a total of to the fertilizer companies against their
Power of simplicity
(SBA) for a loan of Rs. Rs. 6,806.66-crore for subsidy claims, the Ministry of Finance
Prof. Vivek Ranade, University
7,000-crore with a consor- settlement of subsidy had approved SBA for an amount of
of Limerick (Ireland), touched upon
tium of public sector banks bills with the two con- Rs. 7,000-crore with Government inter-
Prof. Joshi’s use of computational fl ow
led by State Bank of India sortia led by SBI and est liability limited to G-Sec rate. Ac-
modelling to help improve industrial
(SBI) and Punjab National PNB was raised by the cordingly, an SBA was worked out with
processes. “His teaching that it is es-
Bank (PNB) for settlement of outstand- Government. The above loan amount the two consortia of banks to meet the
sential to deliver or remove materials
ing indigenous urea subsidy bills of fer- along with interest liability on the part outstanding subsidy claims of fertilizer
and energy at the right time and at the
tilizer companies in 2014-15. of Government thereon amounting to companies.
right place is insightful, as is his model
ling guideline that it is futile to do with
more what can be done with less.
Zuari Agro’s Q2 net plunges 86%
Another of his teaching is that one
should make things as simple as pos-
sible, but not simpler.” said. During the quarter, the company
Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd. (ZACL) of Rs. 21.95-crore in the year ago pe-
has reported a 86% decline in its net riod. Net sales of the company during has invested Rs. 16.69-crore in the
Continuous microwave-based process
profi t at Rs. 3.12-crore for the quarter July-September quarter declined to Rs. equity of MCA Phosphates Pte Ltd., 25 KL Reactor Condensers Ribbon Blenders
for silver nanowires
ended September 30 due to fall in sales. 1,327.17-crore from Rs. 1531.61-crore which is a joint venture fi rm with Mit-
Dr. Amol Kulkarni, CSIR-National
Speakers from industry and research labs with Prof. Joshi
The company had clocked a net profi t in the year ago period, the company subishi Corporation, it added.
Chemical Weekly June 18, 2024
130
160 Chemical Weekly November 10, 2015 Chemical Weekly June 18, 2024 131

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