With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements:

1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.

2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.

3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of oil refineries.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct option is 2 and 3 only.

Statement 1 is incorrect:
In India, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is not completely market-driven. For instance, urea is under direct price control by the Government of India, which fixes its Maximum Retail Price (MRP). Under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme, the government also provides subsidies for non-urea fertilizers (phosphatic and potassic) to keep them affordable, meaning their prices are heavily administered and influenced by government policies rather than being purely market-driven.

Statement 2 is correct:
Ammonia (${\mathrm{NH}}_3$) is a primary raw material and input used in the production of urea. In India and globally, natural gas (which contains methane) is the key feedstock used to produce hydrogen, which is then reacted with nitrogen from the air to synthesize ammonia. Thus, ammonia is indeed produced from natural gas.

Statement 3 is correct:
Sulphur is a critical raw material used to manufacture sulphuric acid, which in turn is used to produce phosphoric acid fertilizers. A significant portion of elemental sulphur is obtained as a by-product during the desulphurization process of crude oil in petroleum refineries (to reduce sulfur emissions from fuels). Therefore, sulphur is a by-product of oil refineries.