Pune
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari assured sugar mill owners at the International Sugarcane Conference that a solution to their challenges related to the government’s policy on sugar use for ethanol production would be addressed after April.
He emphasized the need to prioritize ethanol production over sugar and encouraged the promotion of flex engine vehicles. The government had initially prohibited the use of sugarcane juice for ethanol, later permitting it along with B-heavy molasses while capping sugar diversion at 17 lakh tonnes. Gadkari acknowledged the industry’s concerns, assuring that the restrictions on sugarcane use for ethanol are temporary, and discussions with the prime minister and other ministers are ongoing to find a resolution.
He expressed confidence in India becoming an energy exporter, emphasizing the importance of developing agriculture for this purpose. Gadkari, a proponent of ethanol in the country, pledged to find a way forward, emphasizing the positive future of the sugar industry with its allied products.
