The absence of a robust permanent institutional mechanism for coordinated Centre-State monitoring and timely intervention had contributed to persistent gaps in last-mile delivery, the panel said, suggesting the formation of a permanent joint fertilizer command and monitoring cell. Noticing “persistent underperformance” of new generation urea plants, the panel said they continued to operate significantly below their potential despite being counted amongst the country’s latest manufacturing facilities. On the preparedness for the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, the panel called for an institutionalised contingency framework beyond ad hoc crisis response. It observed that the disruption led to a sharp decline in domestic urea production due to gas curtailment, delays in fertilizer shipments, and a substantial increase in freight and insurance costs. In another report, titled ‘Evaluation of Implementation of the Fertilizer (Movement Control) Order, 1973’, keeping in view the shortcomings in enforcement, a comprehensive review of the Fertilizer (Movement Control) Order, 1973 was necessary.