Producing green urea alone will not be sufficient. We must also optimise urea consumption, because urea is significantly overused in the country, polluting land, water and climate.

The West Asia conflict has thrown a spotlight on India’s deep energy insecurity. What is less discussed is how this vulnerability affects our food security. Since the Green Revolution, India has relied on urea to supply the nitrogen essential for higher crop yields. Urea accounts for 56 per cent of all fertilisers consumed and nearly 80 per cent of all nitrogenous fertilisers. Over 80 per cent of domestic urea is produced using imported natural gas, and more than a fifth of the total consumption is imported. In effect, nearly 90 per cent of the urea consumed in India is import-dependent.