CSE Assessment Finds Indian Soils Severely Deficient in Key Nutrients

64% of Indian Soil Deficient in Nitrogen: CSE Analysis Raises Alarming Questions

On October 30, 2025, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released a sobering assessment of Indian soil health based on official government data. The findings revealed that 64% of soil samples tested across the country are severely deficient in nitrogen, while nearly 50% lack adequate organic carbon. These deficiencies are not merely agronomic challenges; they ripple into concerns around food security, soil degradation, and India’s capacity for climate change mitigation. The report is akin to unearthing a silent crisis, one that runs counter to the government’s stated commitments under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.

Why This Assessment Marks a Stark Break From Previous Monitoring

The Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme launched in 2015 was heralded as India’s leap toward scientific agriculture. Under its framework, farmers receive personalized nutrient-based recommendations after soil samples are tested on 12 parameters including nitrogen, potassium, and pH levels. But what the CSE data emphasizes is limited scope: while SHC reports soil fertility, it fails to address structural properties like organic matter composition or microbial biodiversity. Healthy soil hosts organisms that drive nutrient cycling and carbon retention—yet these elements remain outside the SHC’s purview.

Compounding the issue is the high prevalence of degraded soils. According to the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (2010), 96-120 million hectares of India’s total 328 million hectares are degraded through erosion, pollution, and intensive farming. Some forestry patches—critical zones for carbon sequestration—are near total collapse. The Space Applications Centre (ISRO, 2021) corroborated the scale, mapping degraded forest soils as hotspots.

Understanding the Institutional Machinery Behind Soil Management

From the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) to targeted schemes like Neem-Coated Urea, the government has invested in soil health interventions. Yet, institutional inadequacies hobble their performance. Consider the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)—meant to encourage state-specific soil restoration strategies. Its 2025 allocations stand at ₹3,085 crore, but state utilization remains patchy, driven more by electoral convenience than scientific planning.

The CSE data also raises broader questions about fertilizer inefficiency. India maintains an ambitious urea subsidy program to ensure affordable nitrogen supply, spending over ₹1 lakh crore annually. Yet the report finds this has done little to improve nitrogen levels due to improper application techniques and lack of capacity-building among farmers. Organic farming measures under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) exist as potential solutions, but their reach covers less than 2% of agricultural land—a statistical irrelevance.

The Data Behind the Crisis

The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning estimates India’s soils hold the potential to sequester 6-7 teragrams (Tg) of carbon annually—if well-managed. Yet, the CSE study finds half of the soil samples tested are too depleted in organic carbon to meet this threshold. For context, soil carbon storage is a cornerstone of climate mitigation plans worldwide; higher carbon storage means lower atmospheric CO2 levels.

Fertilizer inefficiency magnifies this gap. India consumed over 30 million tonnes of fertilizers in FY 2024-25, the world’s second-highest use behind China. Yet, nutrient-use efficiency (NUE)—defined as the crop uptake per unit applied—remains low, particularly for nitrogen. CSE researchers noted that indiscriminate urea application not only fails to improve crop yield but contributes to leaching into groundwater, polluting aquifers.

Uncomfortable Questions on Policy Gaps

The deficiencies spotlight institutional blind spots. Should soil monitoring expand its parameters beyond chemical nutrients to include carbon, microbial diversity, and water retention capacity? A significant gap lies in farmer training—schemes like SHC assume that NGOs or state agricultural departments follow through on training, yet these entities lack sufficient outreach or technical expertise. Even at the production end, organic soil amendments like biochar remain underutilized due to absent regulatory protocols for standardized production.

Another overlooked issue is the role of state-by-state variation in soil governance. Punjab and Haryana, under pressure from monocultural cropping patterns (primarily wheat and paddy), see rapid nitrogen depletion from the excessive fertilizer. Meanwhile, states with high organic farming penetration, such as Sikkim under the PKVY program, are closer to breaking the deficiency cycle. This disparity underscores the uneven implementation of federal schemes.

How India Differs From Global Precedents

China’s approach offers a striking comparison. Faced with nitrogen overuse in 2008, China employed precision agriculture technologies under state-mandated quotas for fertilizer use. This policy cut nitrogen wastage by nearly 20% over a decade while enhancing yields. India’s SHC could theoretically adopt similar technologies, but the current infrastructure—a mere 1,000 soil testing labs against a farmer population of 120 million—is woefully insufficient.

Practice Questions for UPSC

Prelims Practice Questions

Frequently Asked Questions