On the 29th of July, 2026, in New Delhi, a significant collaboration unfolded as Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Executive Director of Business Development & Start-up at GAIL (India) Limited, and Ms. Jyoti Patil, Executive Director of Project, Corporate & Coordination at Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF), inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement marks the commencement of a joint venture to develop a gas-based fertilizer plant in Maharashtra, utilizing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
The facility is planned to be located in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha area, strategically positioned along GAIL’s Mumbai–Nagpur–Jharsuguda Natural Gas Pipeline. With a capacity set at 1.27 million metric tonnes per annum, the plant aims to enhance the production of urea.
The signing event was graced by key figures including Shri Deepak Gupta and Shri S. Shivakumar, the Chairmen and Managing Directors of GAIL and RCF respectively. Also present were Shri R.K. Singhal, Director of Business Development at GAIL, Ms. Nazhat J. Shaikh, Director of Finance at RCF, and Ms. Ritu Goswami, Director of Technical at RCF.
During the ceremony, Shri Deepak Gupta highlighted the project’s alignment with GAIL’s objectives of leveraging natural gas for sustainable value creation and bolstering India’s energy security. He expressed enthusiasm about partnering with RCF, noting the synergy between GAIL’s prowess in the natural gas sector and RCF’s expertise in fertilizer production.
Shri S. Shivakumar from RCF shared his optimism about the project’s potential to meet increasing fertilizer needs within India, reduce dependency on imports, and foster industrial growth in the Vidarbha region. He emphasized the combined expertise of RCF in fertilizer operations and GAIL’s robust infrastructure as foundational to establishing a premier fertilizer production facility.
This collaboration not only promises to address critical agricultural needs in India but also aligns with the national directive under the National Investment Policy for Urea-2026, reinforcing the commitment to self-reliance and sustainable development.
