NEW DELHI: The Center plans to tighten the regulatory framework governing the transport of ammonium nitrate by extending the legal liability from only shippers to consignees as well, depending on who provides the transport vehicle. The move aims to close a long-standing loophole that security agencies say has allowed accountability for diverted or misused shipments in transit to be disputed.
The push comes against the backdrop of the Red Fort blast in 2025 and the seizure of a large consignment in Faridabad.
The Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT) proposed changes to the ammonium nitrate rules in 2012 to fill gaps in the law that law enforcement officials say allow liability to be disputed or diffused during transit, particularly when shippers and consignees rely on each other for their transportation arrangements.
The DPIIT released the draft amendment rules on February 4 as per a government order, which Mint reviewed. The proposed changes in the 2026 Ammonium Nitrate Rule Draft seek to clearly establish liability based on who provides the transportation vehicle and mandate that Ammonium Nitrate be transported solely under a valid transportation license held by either the shipper or consignee, as the case may be.
Ammonium nitrate is widely used in mining, construction, and fertilizer-related applications, and is also abused for illegal use.
According to a government official, the move is to strengthen traceability and avoid ambiguity about responsibility during transit, a loophole flagged by security agencies in the past. “The draft notification also proposes to extend compliance obligations to users, other than officials, in licensed premises handling ammonium nitrate,” said this official.
The changes were open to public consultation for 30 days, with the government seeking objections or suggestions before finalizing the rules.
The tighter regulatory push follows a series of incidents in November 2025 involving ammonium nitrate. On 9 November 2025, police seized nearly three tonnes of ammonium nitrate and other bomb-making material from two rented rooms in Faridabad, Haryana, adjacent to Delhi. The following evening, on 10 November, a moving car carrying about 30–40 kg of ammonium nitrate from the same stockpile exploded near the Red Fort, a busy tourist area in New Delhi, killing 15 people.
Four days later, on 14 November, while forensic officials were examining seized explosives at a police facility, ammonium nitrate accidentally exploded, leaving nine dead and about 30 injured.
The move followed extensive consultations with security agencies, which have long argued that while ammonium nitrate has legitimate industrial uses, weak oversight of its transport and end-use greatly increases the risk of diversion into illegal supply chains, the official said.
Previous changes to the regulations have largely focused on licensing rules, storage limits and record-keeping requirements, but enforcement agencies have pressed for clearer accountability during transport, the stage they see as most vulnerable to misuse and abuse.
“The latest proposal signals a renewed focus on pre-emptive regulation, even as India struggles to balance legitimate industrial demand with internal security imperatives,” said Amit Singh, associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Special Center for National Security Studies.
“If completed, these changes would strengthen end-to-end accountability and reduce blind spots in the movement of ammonium nitrate, making it more difficult to siphon off or misuse shipments,” he said, adding that from a security perspective, tighter controls during transport and use are critical to preventing misuse and addressing vulnerabilities that have long plagued law enforcement.
The process will include conducting consultations with stakeholders and accepting their proposals where they are consistent with both industry and national security interests.
The Indian ammonium nitrate market was valued at USD 1.5 billion in 2025 and is expected to expand significantly, with the market projected to grow by approximately USD 2.6 billion by 2026, reflecting strong demand from the agriculture, mining and infrastructure sectors.
