New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a National Investment Policy 2026 to create fresh domestic urea capacity of 10 million tonne and make India self-reliant in the most widely consumed fertiliser in the country.

The new investment framework, approved in the cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will support the setting up of 8-9 new natural gas-based plants.

"India's import dependence has come down due to the addition of six new plants in the last decade. Creation of an additional 8-9 new plants will help the country meet its complete requirement locally and make it self-reliant in this fertiliser," I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after the meeting.

Urea requirement is rising by 5 per cent per annum. India's urea production is around 30 million tonne against the demand of 40 million tonne. The gap of 10 million tonne is met through imports. The policy approved today aims to create additional urea capacity and become self-reliant, he said.

Under the policy, there are three pillars: fixed and variable costs separation for subsidy calculation; assured returns in the range of 12-16 per cent for urea plant companies, and forex risk mitigation, he added.

The new policy is an extension of the New Investment Policy (NIP)-2012.

India's current domestic urea production capacity is about 26.9 million tonne, while imports are 10 million tonne. PTI LUX LUX BAL BAL

Domestic urea investment policy supports new natural gas-based capacity through subsidy-cost separation, assured returns, and foreign-exchange risk mitigation. National Investment Policy 2026 establishes an investment framework to add domestic natural gas-based urea production capacity and reduce import reliance. Extending the New Investment Policy 2012, it provides for separation of fixed and variable costs for subsidy calculation, assured returns for urea plant companies, and foreign-exchange risk mitigation to support investment in new domestic urea manufacturing capacity.