The Department of Fertilizers is a Department under the Ministry of Chemical& & Fertilizers under the overall charge of Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers with two Ministers of State to assist him. Secretary to the Government is the administrative head of the Department.
Secretary is assisted by one Special Secretary and Financial Adviser and 3 Joint Secretaries. An Economic Adviser who is a Joint Secretary level officer advises the department on various economic issues which have economic implications.
The Office of Fertilizer Industry Coordination Committee (FICC) is an attached office under the Department of Fertilizers headed by Executive Director. The FICC, was initially constituted w.e.f. 01.12.1977 to administer and operate the erstwhile Retention Price cum Subsidy Scheme (RPS), the Retention Price Scheme stimulated indigenous production and consumption of fertilizers in the country. However, for attaining greater internal efficiencies and global competitiveness, unit specific approach of RPS was replaced by a group based concession scheme called the new Pricing Scheme (NPS) from 01 April, 2003. The Fertilizers Industry Coordination Committee (FICC), continues under the New Pricing Scheme for administration of the Scheme for Urea.
FICC is responsible to evolve and review periodically, the group concession rates including freight rates for units manufacturing nitrogenous fertilizers, maintain accounts, make payments to and to recover amounts from fertilizer companies, undertake costing and other technical functions and collect and analyze production data, costs and other information.
The FICC comprises of the Secretaries to the GOI in the Department of Fertilizers, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Agriculture and Cooperation, Expenditure, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Chairman, Tariff Commission and two representatives of the urea industry.