At a time when China has extended restrictions on exports of specialty phosphate fertilizers globally for another six months into 2026, Dr. Anupam Agnihotri, Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), on Monday inaugurated Phase I of a Soluble Fertilizer Pilot Plant in Nagpur.

The commissioning of the pilot facility—supported by JNARDDC-funded research completed nearly a month ahead of schedule—marks a significant milestone in strengthening India’s indigenous capabilities in specialty and value-added fertilizer production. The plant is expected to enable domestic manufacturing of all critical soluble fertilizers that are currently imported into the country each year.

Planned for scale-up, the pilot plant is likely to be adopted by leading Indian fertilizer companies in the coming months, helping India move towards self-reliance in specialty soluble fertilizers. The development is also expected to encourage Indian researchers to intensify efforts towards developing indigenous technologies in other strategic sectors critical to the country’s long-term self-reliance goals.

JNARDDC, the nodal agency under the Ministry of Mines, continues to spearhead and fund indigenous research and development across multiple strategic sectors, including critical minerals. The green technology for producing specialty soluble fertilizers, developed by Ishita International, received JNARDDC’s support in April and has progressed from bench scale to pilot scale in record time, underlining the role of focused institutional support in accelerating the development and deployment of indigenous technologies vital to India’s self-reliance objectives.