Environment

Soil Health: Why More Fertiliser Is Not Fixing India's Soil

India budgets ₹1.71 lakh crore a year for fertiliser subsidy, yet 64% of tested soil samples are low in nitrogen. Sunita Narain argues that soil is a living system and India measures only its chemistry.

Jasvin Thinks2026-10-089 mins

Soil Health: Why More Fertiliser Is Not Fixing India's Soil — A farmer receives a Soil Health Card at the launch of the scheme in Suratgarh, Rajasthan, on 19 February 2015.

India has budgeted ₹1,70,944.53 crore for the Department of Fertilisers in 2026-27, most of it subsidy. Yet a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysis of 1.3 crore soil samples tested under the Soil Health Card scheme in 2023-25 found 64% low in nitrogen and 48.5% low in organic carbon. On 22 September 2026, CSE Director General Sunita Narain argued in Down To Earth that the reason is how India understands soil: as a chemical medium to be fed, and not as a living system.

Why are India's soils still deficient despite heavy fertiliser use and subsidy?

Chemical fertilisers supply nutrients but do not rebuild organic carbon or the microbial life that holds nutrients in the soil. A CSE analysis of 1.3 crore Soil Health Card samples from 2023-25 found 64% low in nitrogen and 48.5% low in organic carbon. Sunita Narain argues the Soil Health Card measures only 12 chemical parameters, so India needs to track biological soil health as well.

We are so much poorer because we do not accept that soil is a living being
Sunita Narain, Down To Earth (22 September 2026)

What Actually Happened?

Narain's column reports an analysis by her CSE colleagues of 13 million (1.3 crore) Soil Health Cards produced between 2023 and 2025. They compared fertiliser use with nutrient quality. Despite a 20% rise in the use of chemical fertilisers in the country, she writes, soils remained severely deficient in nitrogen and in other macro- and micro-nutrients.

CSE first released the underlying study in October 2025 in its report Sustainable Food Systems: An agenda for climate-risked times. It found that applying nitrogen fertiliser did not lead to a matching improvement in soil nitrogen, and that total fertiliser use did not improve soil organic carbon. It also noted the scheme's reach: about 1.1 crore farmers were covered by soil testing in two years, in a country with about 14 crore farm households.

Soil samples rated 'low' under the Soil Health Card scheme, 2023-25 (%)

Low in nitrogen	64
Low in organic carbon	48.5

Source: Centre for Science and Environment - Sustainable Food Systems: An agenda for climate-risked times (October 2025)

The subsidy is large. Budget documents show the Department of Fertilisers spent ₹1,81,793 crore in 2024-25. The 2025-26 budget of ₹1,56,502 crore was revised up to ₹1,86,631 crore. For 2026-27 the allocation is ₹1,70,945 crore, of which urea subsidy alone is ₹1,16,805 crore. Narain notes that India is the world's biggest importer of these chemicals and expects the bill to double this year because of blockades and disruptions from the war in the Gulf.

Department of Fertilisers: net budget allocation (₹ crore)

2024-25 (Actual)	181793
2025-26 (Budget)	156502
2025-26 (Revised)	186631
2026-27 (Budget)	170945

Source: Union Budget 2026-27 - Notes on Demands for Grants, Demand No. 6, Department of Fertilisers

Concept: What Is Soil Health?

Soil has three kinds of properties. Chemical properties include nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and acidity. Physical properties include texture and the ability to hold water. Biological properties are the living part: bacteria, fungi and algae, tiny animals such as protozoa, and larger ones such as earthworms and beetles. Narain points out that this soil life depends on the diversity of crops grown above it.

Narain compares soil to the human gut. Science has learnt that gut bacteria decide how well the body uses food. In the same way, soil organisms decide how well a plant can use nutrients. If the organisms decline, more fertiliser is needed for the same yield, and more of it is lost. This is her explanation for why higher fertiliser use has not produced richer soil.

Urea is cheap, so farmers apply more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium
Organic matter is not returned to the field; soil organic carbon stays low
Soil organisms that hold and recycle nutrients decline
Applied nitrogen is lost instead of being retained; soil tests still show low nitrogen
Farmers apply more fertiliser, raising their costs and the subsidy bill

The Soil Health Card: What It Measures

The Soil Health Card scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2015 at Suratgarh in Rajasthan. The card reports the status of a farmer's soil on 12 parameters: the macro-nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur; the micro-nutrients zinc, iron, copper, manganese and boron; and pH, electrical conductivity and organic carbon. It then recommends fertiliser doses. Guidelines for Village Level Soil Testing Labs were issued in June 2023, and 665 such labs had been set up in 17 states by February 2025, according to the Press Information Bureau.

What the Soil Health Card measures and what it leaves out

Aspect of soil	Measured on the card?	Examples
Chemical	Yes: 12 parameters	N, P, K, sulphur, zinc, iron, boron, pH, organic carbon
Physical	No	Texture, water-holding capacity, compaction
Biological	No direct measure	Bacteria, fungi, earthworms, microbial activity

Narain's criticism is that the card focuses on chemistry. Soil organic carbon is on the card, but she notes that it counts both active and inert carbon, so it is only a rough signal of biological health. CSE has recommended adding physical and biological indicators to soil testing.

How Did We Get Here?

1960s The Green Revolution introduces high-yielding seeds that respond to chemical fertilisers; subsidised fertiliser becomes central to food security.
2010 The Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme begins for phosphatic and potassic fertilisers. Urea stays outside it, with a price fixed by the government.
February 2015 The Soil Health Card scheme is launched at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.
June 2023 Guidelines are issued for Village Level Soil Testing Labs run by rural youth, self-help groups and farmer producer organisations.
October 2025 CSE's analysis of 1.3 crore soil samples finds 64% low in nitrogen and 48.5% low in organic carbon.
2026 War in the Gulf disrupts fertiliser supply and raises import costs; the 2026-27 Budget allots about ₹1.71 lakh crore to the Department of Fertilisers.
22 September 2026 Sunita Narain calls for ways to monitor the biological health of soil.

Connect the Dots

India subsidises chemical fertiliser to keep food production high
Cheap urea encourages unbalanced use and little return of organic matter
Soil organic carbon and soil life fall; nutrients are not retained
Soil Health Cards record low nitrogen and carbon, but measure only chemistry
Farmers need more fertiliser for the same crop; costs and imports rise
A war in the Gulf raises import prices, and the subsidy bill grows further

Soil Health Card portal, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (Official portal with soil test data and state-wise nutrient maps)
Environment Report 2026: 99% Days Extreme Weather (Our deep dive on CSE's annual assessment of India's environment)
Rabi MSP Hike: Safflower Gains 10.3%, Wheat Only 1% (How price policy shapes which crops farmers grow)

The Debate

View	Core argument	Evidence cited
Measure soil life	Soil is a living system; test its biology, not only its chemistry	64% of samples low in nitrogen despite higher fertiliser use (Narain, CSE)
Government's approach	Soil testing and balanced fertilisation will correct nutrient use	Soil Health Cards with 12 parameters and dose recommendations; 665 village-level labs (PIB)
Food security first	Fertiliser subsidy keeps yields high and food affordable for 1.4 billion people	Subsidy maintained at about ₹1.71 lakh crore even as import costs rise
Reform the subsidy	Cheap urea distorts the nutrient balance; pricing must change	Urea is priced outside the Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme
Practical limits	Biological tests are costlier and harder to standardise than chemical tests	About 1.1 crore farmers covered in two years, against 14 crore farm households (CSE)

What Could Happen Next?

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Why Does It Matter for India?

Area	Why it matters
Food security	Lower nutrient efficiency means more inputs for the same harvest
Farm incomes	Higher fertiliser doses raise the cost of cultivation
Public finance	Fertiliser subsidy is about 3% of the Union Budget and rises with import prices
External sector	India is the world's largest fertiliser importer, so supply shocks abroad reach Indian fields
Climate	Indian soils could store 6-7 teragrams of carbon a year if organic carbon is rebuilt (CSE)

What Should We Watch?

1. The revised fertiliser subsidy estimate for 2026-27, which will show the cost of the Gulf disruption.
2. Any change in Soil Health Card parameters to include biological or physical indicators.
3. Fertiliser availability and prices during the rabi sowing season.
4. Progress of schemes that promote natural farming and alternatives to chemical fertiliser.
5. New soil data from the Soil Health Card portal.

Bottom Line

India spends about ₹1.71 lakh crore a year to put nutrients into its soil, and its own soil tests show the soil is still short of them. Narain's explanation is that fertiliser feeds the crop but not the living soil that holds nutrients. The policy response she seeks is modest: measure soil life, and let that measurement guide spending. With import costs rising in 2026, the fiscal case for doing so has become stronger.

Key Terms

Soil Health Card — A printed report given to a farmer showing the nutrient status of the soil on 12 parameters, with fertiliser recommendations. Launched in 2015.
Soil organic carbon — Carbon stored in soil from decayed plants, animals and microbes. It improves fertility and water retention.
NPK — Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the three main nutrients supplied by chemical fertilisers.
Nutrient Based Subsidy — A scheme, in place since 2010, that pays a fixed subsidy per kilogram of nutrient in phosphatic and potassic fertilisers.
Soil biota — The living organisms in soil, from bacteria and fungi to earthworms.
Micronutrients — Nutrients that plants need in small amounts, such as zinc, iron, boron and copper.
Carbon sequestration — Capturing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it, here in the soil as organic matter.
Village Level Soil Testing Lab — A small soil-testing unit run by local youth, self-help groups or farmer organisations under 2023 guidelines.

Practice Question (Mains-Style)

Q. Rising fertiliser consumption has not improved the nutrient status of Indian soils. Explain why, and suggest how soil health monitoring and fertiliser subsidy policy should change. (250 words, GS Paper III)