Cabinet okays ethanol price hike

New Delhi: The government on Wednesday hiked the price of ethanol extracted from sugarcane for blending in petrol by up to Rs 1.47 per litre for 2021-22 marketing year starting December, as part of its target to achieve 20 per cent doping by 2025. The Centre also approved a Rs17,408.85 crore 'committed price support' to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) for seven cotton seasons from 2014-15 to 2020-21. The decision was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Higher mixing of ethanol in petrol will help cut India its oil import bill and also benefit sugar cane farmers as well as sugar mills. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raised the price of ethanol extracted from sugarcane juice to Rs 63.45 per litre from the current Rs 62.65 per litre for the supply year beginning December 2021. The rate for ethanol from C-heavy molasses has been increased to Rs 46.66 per litre from Rs 45.69 per litre currently, and that of ethanol from B-heavy to Rs 59.08 per litre from Rs 57.61 per litre, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said at a media briefing. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) buy ethanol at a price fixed by the government. Thakur said the ethanol blending with petrol has touched 8 per cent in the 2020-21 marketing year (December-November) and is expected to reach 10 per cent in the next year. India has plans to increase the blending to 20 per cent by 2025.

The CCEA has approved incurring expenditure for reimbursing losses under MSP operations for cotton during the cotton season (October-September) 2014-15 to 2020-21.

The CCEA has given its approval for committed price support of Rs 17,408.85 crore to the CCI for the cotton seasons from 2014-15 to 2020-21 (up to September 30, 2021), an official release said.

In order to safeguard the interests of the cotton farmers, the government said the CCI procured cotton in large quantity during 2014-15 to 2020-21 as cotton prices touched the MSP prices. The procurement of cotton at MSP helped stabilise the cotton prices and alleviate farmer's distress.

Briefing media on the Cabinet decisions, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said the CCI and authorised agencies procured 123 lakh cotton bales in 2019-20 and 100 lakh bales in 2020-21.