Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) Explained

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) is a Mumbai-headquartered public sector undertaking of the Government of India that manufactures urea, complex fertilisers and industrial chemicals, with its main plants at Trombay in Mumbai and Thal in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The company came into being in 1978 when the old Fertilizer Corporation of India was reorganised into separate companies, and it has since become one of the country’s best-known suppliers of farm nutrients under brands such as Ujjwala and Suphala.

Because agriculture still supports a very large share of India’s workforce, a fertiliser PSU like Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers sits at the meeting point of food security, farm incomes and government subsidy policy. This explainer sets out what RCF does, how it was formed, what it produces and where it fits in India’s fertiliser industry. It was last reviewed on 22 October 2026.

Key Takeaways

• Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited was formed in 1978 when the Fertilizer Corporation of India was split into separate companies.
• RCF is headquartered in Mumbai and operates two main manufacturing complexes, one at Trombay in Mumbai and one at Thal in Raigad district, Maharashtra.
• RCF sells urea under the Ujjwala brand and complex NPK fertilisers under the Suphala brand, and also makes a range of industrial chemicals.
• The Government of India holds the majority stake in RCF, and the company is administered by the Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• Urea sold by Indian manufacturers, including RCF, is sold at a government-controlled maximum retail price, with the gap to the cost of production met through a fertiliser subsidy.
• RCF’s shares are listed on Indian stock exchanges, so the company reports results publicly even though the government remains its controlling owner.

What is Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF)?

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers is a central public sector enterprise that produces nitrogenous and complex fertilisers and a basket of industrial chemicals. The name translates roughly as “National Chemicals and Fertilizers”, which reflects its original mandate as a national-level producer meant to add capacity to India’s farm-input supply during the years when the country was working to become self-sufficient in foodgrains.

RCF is a limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, and it is classed as a central public sector enterprise because the Union government is the majority owner. Day-to-day policy oversight comes from the Department of Fertilizers, which sits within the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Its board includes full-time functional directors, government nominee directors and independent directors, as is standard for listed PSUs.

The company’s identity is closely tied to Mumbai. Its registered and corporate offices are in the city, and its original plant at Trombay lies on the eastern shore of Mumbai island, in an industrial belt that also houses refineries and other chemical units.

How was RCF formed in 1978?

RCF was formed in 1978 as part of the restructuring of the Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI), which until then was the central government’s main fertiliser manufacturer. FCI had grown into a large and geographically scattered organisation, with units in several states, and the government decided that a single entity was too unwieldy to manage efficiently.

Under the reorganisation, FCI’s operations were divided among several companies. Broadly, the former FCI units were distributed to new or reconstituted entities, including Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation, National Fertilizers Limited and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, while a residual FCI continued with the remaining plants. RCF received the Trombay unit, which FCI had set up in the 1960s, along with the then-planned Thal project in Maharashtra.

The Trombay complex dates from the mid-1960s, when it was set up to expand ammonia and fertiliser output during the early Green Revolution period. The Thal project, built on a greenfield site on the Konkan coast, was designed to use natural gas and was commissioned in the mid-1980s, adding substantial urea capacity under RCF.

Why did the government split FCI?

• FCI had become too large to administer from one centre, with plants spread across many regions.
• Several older units were running with ageing technology and needed separate turnaround or rehabilitation plans.
• Splitting the company allowed new gas-based projects, such as Thal, to be managed by a focused team.
• Smaller companies were easier to hold accountable for performance, costs and expansion plans.

What does RCF manufacture?

RCF manufactures urea, complex NPK fertilisers, ammonia-based products and a set of industrial chemicals. Its fertiliser portfolio is the larger part of its business, while its chemicals division supplies other industries such as pharmaceuticals, dyes, plastics and paints.

Fertilisers

Urea is the company’s core nitrogenous product and carries the Ujjwala brand name. Urea contains about 46 per cent nitrogen, which makes it the most widely used nitrogen fertiliser in India. Since 2015, all domestically produced urea sold for agricultural use has been required to be neem-coated, a measure intended to slow the release of nitrogen and reduce diversion to industrial use.

Complex fertilisers are sold under the Suphala brand. Suphala is an NPK product, meaning it supplies nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium together in one granule, with a commonly cited grade of 15:15:15. RCF has also marketed other grades with nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur content, depending on the raw materials available and the demand in different regions.

Specialty and allied farm inputs

• Biola, a bio-fertiliser range intended to improve nutrient uptake and soil health.
• Microla, a mixture of micronutrients, designed to correct deficiencies of elements such as zinc, boron and iron.
• Sujala, a water-soluble fertiliser used in fertigation and drip irrigation systems.
• Trading in other farm inputs, including imported or purchased fertilisers that RCF markets through its network.

Industrial chemicals

RCF’s chemicals portfolio, built around the Trombay complex, has historically included methanol, ammonium bicarbonate, argon, methylamines, dimethyl formamide, formic acid, sulphuric acid and related products. The exact product list has changed over the decades as plants were modernised or closed, so readers who need current specifications should consult the company’s latest published product catalogue.

Where are RCF’s plants located?

RCF’s two principal plants are the Trombay unit in Mumbai and the Thal unit in Raigad district, both in Maharashtra. The two sites differ in age, scale and product mix, and together they supply the company’s urea, complex fertiliser and chemical output.

The Trombay site has the advantage of proximity to Mumbai’s port and to the offshore gas fields that supply the western coast. Thal, near Alibag across the harbour from Mumbai, sits close to the sea and benefits from gas pipelines and the port facilities of the region. Both plants rely on natural gas as their principal feedstock for ammonia, which is then converted to urea or used in complex fertilisers.

How is urea made, and why does gas matter?

Urea is made by reacting ammonia with carbon dioxide, and ammonia itself is produced from hydrogen and nitrogen, with the hydrogen coming mostly from natural gas in modern Indian plants. This is why natural gas supply and price are the single largest cost factors for a gas-based urea producer such as RCF.

The production sequence can be summarised in four steps.

• Natural gas is reformed with steam to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
• Hydrogen is combined with nitrogen from air in the ammonia synthesis loop to form ammonia.
• Ammonia and carbon dioxide react under high pressure to form ammonium carbamate, which is converted into urea.
• The urea solution is concentrated, granulated or prilled, and bagged, typically in 45-kilogram bags for the Indian farm market.

Since gas is often imported as liquefied natural gas for the pooled supply, global energy prices indirectly affect the cost of making urea in India. The government has used a pooled gas-price mechanism for urea units to smooth out these differences across plants, though the details have been revised from time to time.

How does the fertiliser subsidy affect RCF?

The fertiliser subsidy affects RCF because urea is sold to farmers at a statutory maximum retail price that is far below the cost of production, and the central government pays manufacturers the difference. The retail price of urea has remained largely unchanged for many years, at a level of about Rs 242 for a 45-kilogram bag, excluding neem-coating charges and taxes.

For urea, the Department of Fertilizers fixes a unit-specific price for each plant based on its efficiency and feedstock, and pays the subsidy against certified sales to farmers. For phosphatic and potassic fertilisers, including many complex fertilisers, India follows a Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) policy, under which the government announces a per-kilogram subsidy for each nutrient before every cropping season and companies set their own selling prices within an indicative range.

Why the subsidy matters for a PSU

• Revenue depends partly on timely release of subsidy payments from the government.
• Profit margins on urea are fixed largely by policy, so efficiency gains and energy savings are the main levers for RCF.
• Complex fertilisers under NBS expose the company to global prices of raw materials such as phosphoric acid, rock phosphate and potash.
• Policy changes in subsidy rates, gas pricing or import rules can change profitability quickly.

Who owns and runs RCF?

RCF is owned mainly by the President of India, acting through the Department of Fertilizers, which holds roughly three-quarters of the equity, while the balance is held by institutional and retail investors. The company is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and as a listed PSU it is subject to the disclosure norms of the securities regulator, SEBI.

A Chairman and Managing Director, along with functional directors for finance, marketing, operations and human resources, leads the company. Government nominee directors and independent directors sit on the board. Like other central PSUs, RCF is also subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and to scrutiny by parliamentary committees.

The company has been recognised within the Department of Public Enterprises’ categorisation of PSUs, which grants varying levels of financial autonomy to profitable enterprises. Readers should check the Department of Public Enterprises’ latest list for RCF’s current category, since classifications can change.

What role does RCF play in farm inputs and food security?

RCF plays the role of a large public-sector supplier of nitrogen and complex nutrients, helping ensure that farmers in key states can get fertiliser during peak sowing seasons. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the three primary plant nutrients, and fertiliser use has been one of the main drivers behind the rise in Indian foodgrain output since the 1960s.

RCF’s marketing network is concentrated in states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, with a presence across much of the country through dealers, cooperatives and district-level distribution points. During kharif and rabi seasons, the company coordinates stock movement by rail and road to reduce shortages.

Beyond supplying product, RCF runs farmer-awareness and soil-testing activities, demonstrations of balanced fertiliser use and promotional campaigns for micronutrients and bio-fertilisers. These activities support the government’s broader push for balanced nutrient application, since over-reliance on urea relative to phosphorus and potassium can reduce crop response and harm soil health.

What are RCF’s joint ventures and expansion projects?

RCF participates in joint ventures aimed at securing fertiliser supply and creating new capacity, including a company formed for overseas fertiliser sourcing and a coal-gasification-based urea project in Odisha. These ventures are designed to reduce reliance on imported gas and imported finished fertiliser.

• Urvarak Videsh Limited, a joint venture of Indian fertiliser companies to secure long-term fertiliser and raw material supply from overseas sources.
• Talcher Fertilizers Limited, a joint venture in Odisha involving RCF, Coal India Limited, GAIL (India) Limited and Fertilizer Corporation of India, planned to produce urea from coal gasification.
• Modernisation and energy-efficiency upgrades at the Trombay and Thal plants, intended to lower specific energy consumption per tonne of urea.

Project timelines and capacities for such ventures change frequently, so the figures in public announcements should be treated as targets rather than guaranteed outcomes.

How does RCF compare with other fertiliser companies?

RCF is one of several large public-sector fertiliser producers, alongside National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), as well as cooperative and private players. The table below compares RCF with other major kinds of fertiliser producers in India in qualitative terms.

The comparison shows that RCF’s position is that of a mid-to-large public sector manufacturer with strong regional presence in western and central India, as opposed to a pan-India cooperative giant. Its competitive strategy relies on a mix of subsidised urea volumes, branded complex fertilisers and a growing portfolio of specialty products.

What are the challenges facing RCF?

RCF faces challenges linked to feedstock cost, subsidy dependence, ageing plants and changing farm practices. The main concerns typically cited by analysts of the fertiliser sector are listed below.

• Dependence on imported liquefied natural gas, which exposes production costs to global energy price swings.
• Delays in subsidy payments, which can raise working-capital needs and borrowing costs.
• Older plants requiring continued investment to meet government energy-consumption norms and emission rules, since natural gas is the largest cost in making urea.
• Government policy shifts promoting natural farming, nano-fertilisers and balanced nutrient use, which may alter demand patterns over time.
• Competition from imports and from private companies in the complex fertiliser segment.

At the same time, the long-run demand outlook for fertilisers in India remains supported by a large farming population, rising food requirements and policy emphasis on domestic production to reduce import dependence.

Bottom Line

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers is a government-owned fertiliser and chemicals manufacturer formed in 1978, with plants at Trombay and Thal and well-known brands such as Ujjwala and Suphala. Its performance depends heavily on gas supply, subsidy policy and plant efficiency, which makes it a useful example of how India’s farm inputs sector is shaped by both markets and public policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does RCF stand for?

RCF stands for Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, a public sector undertaking headquartered in Mumbai. The word “Rashtriya” means “national”, and the company was created in 1978 from the reorganisation of the Fertilizer Corporation of India. It is administered by the Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

Where are RCF’s plants located?

RCF operates two main plants, one at Trombay in Mumbai and one at Thal in Raigad district, both in Maharashtra. The Trombay unit dates from the 1960s and was inherited from the Fertilizer Corporation of India, while the Thal unit is a gas-based complex that began operations in the 1980s. Both rely on natural gas as the main feedstock for ammonia and urea.

What are the Ujjwala and Suphala brands?

Ujjwala is RCF’s brand of urea, and Suphala is its brand of complex NPK fertiliser. Ujjwala supplies nitrogen, while Suphala supplies nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium together in a single granule, with a commonly cited grade of 15:15:15. RCF also sells bio-fertilisers, micronutrients and water-soluble fertilisers under other names.

Is RCF a government company?

Yes, RCF is a central public sector undertaking in which the Government of India holds the majority of the shares, roughly three-fourths. The company is nonetheless listed on the NSE and BSE, so a minority of its shares are held by public investors. Policy oversight rests with the Department of Fertilizers.

How does the subsidy on urea work?

The government fixes a low maximum retail price for urea, about Rs 242 per 45-kilogram bag, and pays manufacturers like RCF the difference between their cost of production and the price farmers pay. The subsidy is paid against certified sales, and the per-plant price is set according to each unit’s efficiency and feedstock. For phosphatic and potassic fertilisers, a Nutrient Based Subsidy fixes a per-kilogram support level for each nutrient every season.

What industrial chemicals does RCF make?

RCF makes industrial chemicals, mostly at Trombay, that have included methanol, ammonium bicarbonate, argon, methylamines, dimethyl formamide, formic acid and sulphuric acid. These products supply industries such as pharmaceuticals, dyes, plastics and paints. The exact range has changed over time, so the company’s latest product catalogue is the best reference for current offerings.

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