'Urea Gold' is a mixture of:

Question

'Urea Gold' is a mixture of:

1. A. Nitrogen and gold
2. B. Phosphorous and gold
3. C. Nitrogen and Sulphur (Correct answer)
4. D. Potassium and Phosphorous

Correct Answer

Option C — Nitrogen and Sulphur

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Nitrogen and Sulphur.

Key Points

• Urea Gold is sulphur-coated urea — a fertiliser combining nitrogen with sulphur. It contains no gold; the name refers to its golden appearance.
• It was launched by the Prime Minister in July 2023, at the same time as several other agricultural initiatives.
• The typical composition is around 37% nitrogen and 17% sulphur, against 46% nitrogen in conventional urea.

Additional Information

• Why sulphur coating helps: the coating causes nitrogen to be released slowly, matching the crop's uptake over the growing season. This raises nitrogen use efficiency, reduces losses to leaching and volatilisation, and means fewer applications and a lower total requirement of urea per hectare.
• Sulphur is itself an essential nutrient, and Indian soils are increasingly deficient in it. It is needed for the synthesis of sulphur-containing amino acids — cysteine and methionine — and for chlorophyll formation and oil synthesis, which makes it especially important for oilseeds and pulses.
• The three primary nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK); the secondary nutrients are calcium, magnesium and sulphur; the micronutrients include iron, zinc, manganese, boron, copper, molybdenum and chlorine.
• Related products and schemes: Neem-coated urea, made mandatory in 2015 to slow release and prevent the diversion of subsidised urea to industrial use; Nano Urea and Nano DAP developed by IFFCO, delivering nutrients in liquid nanoparticle form; PM-PRANAM, which incentivises states to reduce chemical fertiliser use; and PM Kisan Samruddhi Kendras, the one-stop retail outlets for farm inputs.
• India is among the world's largest consumers of urea and a substantial importer, which is why fertiliser subsidy is one of the largest items in the Union Budget and why release-efficiency products carry a direct fiscal argument alongside the agronomic one.