Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

25-April-2012 12:46 IST

The draft Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2011 were published vide Government of India Notification No. G.S.R. 694 (E) dated 16.9.2011. After stakeholders’ discussions, the final Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012 have been referred to the Ministry of Law for vetting.

In various cases of terrorist/bomb blasts such as the German Bakery bomb blast case of Pune and the bomb blast near Jama Masjid in Delhi, Ammonium Nitrate was found to have been used as one of the ingredients of the Improvised Explosive Charge. Ammonium Nitrate was also used in the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai on 13.7.2011. In India, Ammonium Nitrate has not been permitted as a fertilizer under the Fertilizers Control Order (FCO) 1985 of the Government of India. Hence, it is not permitted to be sold as a fertilizer in the country. The Government has also declared Ammonium Nitrate as an ‘Explosive’ under Section 17 of the Explosives Act, 1884 and framed draft Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2011 in an attempt to bring its manufacture, import, transport, use sale, possession etc. under the ambit of law. It will also provide a regulatory mechanism to prevent its misuse and to ensure its safe usage to protect the public from the danger of accidental explosions.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

DS/GK

Regulation of ammonium nitrate tightened to subject manufacture, sale and handling to statutory controls preventing misuse. Regulation targets the control of ammonium nitrate by bringing its manufacture, import, transport, sale, possession and use within a statutory framework to prevent misuse and accidental explosions. The Government has declared it an Explosive under the Explosives Act and excluded it from fertilizer permissibility, prompting rule making to subject related activities to licensing, vetting and safety oversight.