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This study was carried out in Amritsar, Punjab, to find out how efficiently nutrients were used and how much energy was employed in direct-seeded rice (DSR) production. In this study, four levels of nitrogen (0, 40, 50, and 60 kg N ha⁻¹) and three levels of phosphorus (0, 37.5, and 45 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹) were tested. In a rice production system, the energy indices of various inputs and outputs were evaluated through the application of energy equivalency. The nutrient-use efficiencies in rice were assessed using different efficiency indices. The maximum grain yields of 38.9 q ha⁻¹ and 36.9 q ha ⁻¹ were recorded at 50 kg N ha⁻¹ and 45 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹, respectively. On the other hand, application of nitrogen at 60 kg N ha⁻¹ and phosphorus at 45 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹ resulted in maximum straw yield of 57.1 q ha⁻¹ and 51.1 q ha⁻¹, respectively. In comparison with the control, application of 60 and 50 kg N ha⁻¹ resulted in 161.9% and 151.0% higher grain yield, respectively. On the other hand, with applications of 45 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹ and 37.5 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹, an increase in the grain yield of 17.3 and 28.6%, respectively, over the control was recorded. Moving further towards nutrient-use efficiencies (NUEs), the highest values of partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFP_N), agronomic efficiency of nitrogen (AE_N), partial nutrient balance of nitrogen (PNB_N), and recovery efficiency of nitrogen (RE_N) were 89.1, 50.4, 1.78 and 0.72, respectively, which were obtained at 40 kg N ha⁻¹, after which the values started decreasing steadily. In the case of phosphorus, the partial factor productivity (PFP_P) of 88.6 was the maximum at 37.5 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹, but partial nutrient balance (PNB_P) of 0.36 and recovery efficiency (RE_P) of 0.08 were highest at 45 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹. The main results revealed that the farmer field had an excessive amount of non-renewable energy inputs. The experimental field depicted greater energy-usage efficiency (EUE) of 4.5, energy productivity (EP) of 0.14, and energy profitability (EP₁) of 3.5. These results were primarily ascribed to a significant drop in energy inputs under direct-seeded rice (DSR). In the case of non-renewable energy inputs, fertilizer made the maximum contribution to energy input (47.9%) in the farmer’s field. We conclude that nutrient-use efficiencies and energy-use efficiency were highest at 50 kg N and 45 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹. This recommendation is beneficial for farmers because lower inputs and higher outputs are the main objective of every farmer.