Govt hikes sugar FRP, rules out raise in MSP
The Centre on Wednesday hiked the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane growers by ₹5 per quintal to ₹290 a quintal for 2021-22 marketing year, but ruled out any immediate increase in the selling price of sugar.
The decision to increase the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for the 2021-22 marketing year (October-september) was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA.
The government had fixed sugarcane FRP at ₹285 per quintal for the current 2020-21 marketing year.
Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal said the FRP has been increased to ₹290 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10%.
He said a premium of ₹2.90/ quintal will be provided for each 0.1% increase in recovery over and above 10%.
There will be a reduction in FRP by ₹2.90/quintal for every 0.1% decrease in recovery.
To protect interest of farmers, Goyal said the government has decided that there would be no deduction where recovery is below 9.5%.
“Such farmers will get ₹275.50 per quintal for sugarcane in ensuing sugar season 2021-22 in place of ₹270.75 per quintal in current sugar season 2020-21,” the minister said.
When asked if the government will increase the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar as FRP has been raised, Goyal said: “Not necessarily”.
He said the government is giving a lot of support to increase sugar exports and ethanol production. He also said the government has ensured a “delicate balance” between the interest of farmers and consumers as well as of the industry.
The government on Wednesday cleared a ₹15,000-crore foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal of Anchorage Infrastructure Investment Holding Ltd, a subsidiary of pension fund, for the investment in the infrastructure sector.
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the FDI proposal specifically for the purpose of investment in infrastructure and the construction-development sectors. These may include transport and logistics, along with downstream investment in the airport sector and aviation-related businesses and services.
The investment also includes transfer of share of Bangalore International Airport Limited to Anchorage, and investment of ₹950 crore in Anchorage Infrastructure Investment Holding Ltd by Ontariao Inc.