While the entire focus of the government is currently on fighting Coronavirus, NCP chief Sharad Pawar brought to fore the plight of the sugar industry which is bearing losses due to the lockdown.

Writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pawar sought bail out for the sugar industry from the crisis “aggravated exponentially” by the unprecedented lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In his letter, sent on Thursday, Pawar sought the prime minister’s “urgent intervention” into the matter.

“Raised concerns through letter to Hon. @PMOIndia and requested his urgent intervention to bail out #sugar industry from crisis aggravated exponentially by unprecedented nationwide lockdown in the wake of pandemic #COVID?19,” Pawar tweeted.

The former Union agriculture minister has placed five demands before the prime minister.
These include the provision of funds for clearing export incentives and buffer stock expenses which have been pending since 2018-2020; provision of a one-time grant of Rs 650 per tonne on average cane crushed during the last two years; conversion of outstanding capital into short-term loan and rescheduling of all terms of loans for ten years with a moratorium of two years on the lines of Mitra Committee recommendations.

Pawar has also urged the PM to introduce a policy to treat all sugar distilleries as Strategic Business Units (SBU). On a standalone basis, banks should finance ethanol projects sanctioned under interest subvention capex scheme announced by the central government in 2018, he said in his letter.

“Hoping that the honourable @PMOIndia would look into the matter and initiate necessary relief measures to resolve the crisis worsened due to Pandemic #COVID?19,” Pawar said.