National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking and the second largest government-owned-fertilizer-producer in India as of 2018. It is a Miniratna (Cat-1) company, with the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

owning a majority stake. Incorporated in 1974, NFL comes under the administrative control of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, and is the second largest producer of the key fertiliser

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important ...

in India. NFL has five gas-based ammonia-urea plants viz Nangal and

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth l ...

in Punjab, Panipat in Haryana and two at Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh).

History

NFL was established in 23 August 1974, as a

public-sector undertaking A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

of the

. NFL initially operated two plants in

and Panipat. In 1978, the ownership and operations of the Nangal plant of FCI was transferred to NFL. The Govt. of India, in 1984, entrusted the company to execute the country's first inland gas based fertiliser project of 726,000 tonnes urea capacity in District Guna of Madhya Pradesh, and commercial production started from 1 July 1988. The company built and commissioned its Vijaipur plant in Guna district of Madhya capacity was doubled to 1.45 million tonnes in 1997. NFL was granted the Mini- Navratna status with additional autonomy due to its profitable operations. In 2001, the company went public, with listings on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

Industrial and business operations

NFL has five gas-based urea plants viz Nangal and Bathinda in Punjab, Panipat in Haryana and two at Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh). The plants at Panipat, Bathinda and Nangal have recently been converted from fuel oil feedstock to natural gas. Vijaipur plants have also been revamped for energy saving and capacity enhancement.

Products

NFL is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of urea, Neem-coated urea, bio-fertilizers (solid and liquid) and other allied industrial products like

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...

nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available ni ...

, ammonium nitrate,

sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaNO2. It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite ...

sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. ...

etc. The value-added Neem-coated urea developed by NFL and widely recognized for its effectiveness is being produced at its three units at Panipat, Bathinda and Vijaipur. NFL is the first company in India to be permitted by the Government of India to produce and market Neem-coated urea. NFL manufactures and markets three types of Bio-Fertilizers namely

Rhizobium ''Rhizobium'' is a genus of Gram-negative soil bacteria that fix nitrogen. ''Rhizobium'' species form an endosymbiotic nitrogen-fixing association with roots of (primarily) legumes and other flowering plants. The bacteria colonize plant cells ...

Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are beneficial bacteria capable of solubilizing inorganic phosphorus from insoluble compounds. P-solubilization ability of rhizosphere microorganisms is considered to be one of the most important traits associa ...

(PSB) and Azotobacter. Starting with a mere 23 MT production in 1995–96, the production has risen to 231 MT (Approx) in 2010–11.

Business

The company is also doing trading business in various agro-inputs like certified quality seeds, compost /

Vermicompost Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and ...

manure, agrochemicals like Insecticides /

Herbicides Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

, Bentonite Sulphur etc. Company is also taking up initiative for setting up of Single Super Phosphate (SSP), Heavy water, Bentonite Sulphur plants etc.

Marketing

The company's marketing network comprises central marketing office at NOIDA, Four zonal offices at Bhopal, Lucknow and Chandigarh and Hyderabad, 14 state offices and 39 area offices spread across the country.

Future projects

An agreement for a joint venture company "Ramagundam Fertilizers And Chemicals Limited" has been signed on 14 January 2015 between National Fertilizers Limited,

Engineers India Limited Engineers India Limited (EIL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Governmen ...

(EIL) and FCIL for setting up new ammonia and urea plants of 2200 MT per day and 3850 MT per day capacity respectively at the existing site of Ramagundam Fertilizer Plant in District. Ramagundam in Telangana. As per this joint venture agreement, NFL shall provide commissioning, operation, maintenance and marketing services to the joint venture company and EIL shall provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) Consultancy Services for the project. The total capital expenditure of 50 billion is being funded in Debt:Equity of 70:30 percentage. NFL and EIL are contributing equity of 26% each and 11% is from FCIL. The balance equity is in the process of being tied up. The company also has a joint venture (33.33% share) “Urvarak Videsh Limited” with M/s. KRIBHCO and RCF as promoters. The main objective of the joint venture company is to explore investment opportunity abroad and within the country in nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic sectors and to render consultancy services for setting up projects in India and abroad.

Consultancy

NFL is well known for taking up assignments in India and abroad in the fields of: * commissioning activities of plant/ equipment * heavy equipment erection supervision * complete operation of chemical plants on a continuous basis * overall maintenance of plants; specialised maintenance and repair services/shutdown/turn around jobs * special maintenance and repair services for rotatory equipment, like pumps, compressors, turbines etc. * energy audits leading to energy savings safety audit services * design and monitoring of environment protection systems * NDT, corrosion and RLA services * laboratory services * training of technical manpower in operation maintenance and safety management * consultancy in project management

Assignments taken abroad

Assistance in checking the operability and maintainability of PETROBRAS Fertilizer Plant in Brazil and training of Specialist Welders. Assistance in operation and maintenance of Ammonia and Methanol Complex of Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co., Bahrain. Assistance in operation and maintenance of Ammonia Plant of NAPETCO, Libya through UNIDO.

Performance

Production

The percentage share of NFL in urea production in the country was 14.2% during 2012–13. The company produced 3211,000 tonnes of urea, which includes 10.83 LMT of Neem-coated urea. 448 MT of bio-fertilizers (solid and liquid) was produced during the year.

Sales and marketing

During 2012–13, company sold 31.62 LMT of urea (including 10.92 LMT of Neem-coated urea). Industrial products of worth ` 956.3 million and Bio-Fertilizers (liquid and solid) of` 36.5 million were sold during 2012–13. Turnover of traded Agri products (compost, seeds, Bentonite sulphur and pesticides) was ` 300.8 million.

Financial

The company, during 2012–13, achieved a sales turnover of ` 67.47 billion (previous year ` 73.41 billion). The lower turnover was primarily due to lower urea production as all the units were under shutdown for hooking up and commissioning activities of the projects. The loss before tax was ` 2306.2 million (previous year profit `1842.0 million) and loss after tax was ` 1707.3 million (previous year profit `1267.3 million).

References

{{authority control Rupnagar Panipat Government-owned companies of India Fertilizer companies of India Manufacturing companies based in Noida Indian companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in Uttar Pradesh Chemical companies established in 1974 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange