Ramesh Chand task force a unit of Niti Aayog recommended linking sugarcane prices to sugar rates. The force illuminated that it is necessary to keep the industry in beneficial financial health.
With this report, the task force has favoured for a one-time increase in minimum sugar price at Rs 33 per kg. The task force has been maintaining the report which was finalized in March 2020 and published in August.
Report on Sugarcane Prices
- The panel endorsed to link sugarcane prices to sugar rates.
- Sugarcane cultivation areas should be shifted to less water-intensive crops by providing incentives to farmers.
- Presently area under sugarcane cultivation is about 3 lakh hectares and yields about 20 lakh tonnes of sugarcane.
- The panel also simplifieed the incentive to farmers for moving to less water-intensive crops be around Rs 6,000 per hectare.
- Revenue Sharing Formula will be simplified to introduce farmers in receiving fair prices for their sugarcane production.
- A price stabilisation fund was also introduced.
- Minimum support price of sugarcane will be reviewed and finalised within six months.
- The panel also suggested imposing a cess of Rs 50 per quintal on sugar for a period of 3 years to add about Rs 4,500 crore fund which could be used to improve financial conditions of farmers.
NITI Aayog
National Institution for Transforming India or NITI Aayog is the think reservior of the Government of India formed on January 1, 2015.
The Chairperson of the Aayog is the Prime Minister and the Vice-chairperson at present is Rajiv Kumar.
Ramesh Chandra Task Force:-
Dr Ramesh Chand is a renowned Indian agricultural economist and a policymaker. Since the last three and a half decades, he has been engaged in food and nutritional security-related agricultural issues.
He is a Member, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in the rank of Union Minister of State, Government of India since 2015. Dr Chand is directly steering India’s agricultural development agenda with focusing food and nutrition security.
He is also involved in policy-related inputs to the Ministries both of the Central and State Governments concerning land and water resources, SDGs, poverty alleviation, forest and environment, sustainable livelihood, smallholder development.
