india

Updated: Jun 06, 2018 22:30 IST

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 8,500 crore package to provide relief to sugarcane farmers and to clear their dues. The package is part of the government’s efforts to address the ongoing agrarian crisis in the country and offset its political impact.

The package will boost farmers’ income by creating a buffer stock for sugar, enhancing ethanol production capacity and fixing a minimum selling price to cut mill losses.

A total of Rs 4,400 crore will be used to increase ethanol production to divert sugarcane away from sugar mills which are unable to dispose of their inventories. The government has also decided to ensure a minimum sale price of Rs 29/kg for sugar.

Announcing the cabinet decision, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the government has decided to create a buffer stock of 3 million tonnes for one year, which will result in a Rs 1,175 crore burden on the centre in form of storage cost to mills. Hindustan Times reported details of the package on Tuesday.

Nod to time-bound closure of sick CPSEs

The cabinet also approved procedures for time-bound closure of sick and loss-making central public sector enterprises.

The guidelines accord first priority to utilisation of land of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) under closure for affordable housing as per the relevant guidelines of the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

The guidelines also specifies how ministries or departments dealing with the CPSE should go about the closure process and handle settlement of liabilities.

The other approvals include a 10-km bridge across river Ganga in Allahabad to be built at a cost of Rs 1,948 crore.

This project approved by the CCEA is expected to be completed by December 2021, will resolve the traffic congestion on the existing two-lane Phaphamau bridge.