India’s agriculture sector is heading into a challenging season. Concerns over a potentially weak monsoon, the possible impact of El Niño, geopolitical tensions in West Asia, and rising input costs have reignited a longstanding debate over the sustainability of India’s fertiliser subsidy regime. against this backdrop, agricultural economist Ashok Gulati argues that the current system has become fiscally burdensome, heavily dependent on imports, and environmentally damaging, making comprehensive reform increasingly unavoidable.