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 Government of India subsidizes fertilizers to ensure availability to farmers and maintain self-sufficiency in agriculture. This is achieved by controlling fertilizer prices and production amounts.

Under the New Urea Policy of 2015, the government sets the market price of urea and provides a fixed subsidy. Similarly, the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme of 2010 provides subsidies based on nutrient content per kg of fertilizer.

Statement 1 is not correct. The retail price of chemical fertilizers is administered by the government, not market-driven.

Fertilizer production consumes 1.2% of the world's total energy, with 90% used for ammonia production, a key component of nitrogen fertilizers. Ammonia can be produced from natural gas.

Statement 2 is correct.

Sulphur is a major by-product of oil refining and gas processing. Most crude oil contains sulfur, which is removed during refining to meet sulfur content limits in refined products. Sulphur is used in phosphoric acid fertilizer production (via 'The Wet Process').

Statement 3 is correct.

Hence, only statements 2 and 3 are correct.