Sugarcane (Control) Order 1966: Draft Overhaul Proposed
Why in the news
The Department of Food and Public Distribution drafted a complete rewrite of a 60-year-old sugar regulation, reflecting the sector’s shift from plain sugar making to a bio-refinery model built around ethanol.
Key facts
| Area | Proposed change |
|---|---|
| Farmer payment | Pay within 14 days of cane delivery |
| Delay penalty | 15% annual interest on the late amount, paid to the farmer |
| Recovery | Unpaid dues treated as arrears of land revenue, first time |
| Producer definition | Includes any entity using cane juice, syrup or molasses for downstream products such as ethanol |
| Ethanol-sugar parity | 600 litres of cane-based ethanol = 1 tonne of sugar |
| Cane pricing | Value of by-products and ethanol becomes a factor in FRP |
| Reporting | Mills share production and payment data via APIs |
| Khandsari units | Mandatory licensing and quality checks |
| Mill spacing | 25-km radius rule retained |
Details
- Arrears of land revenue: District Collectors can enforce dues like unpaid taxes, including attaching mill assets, seizing property or bank accounts, or auctioning assets.
- By-products now formally defined: bagasse (power), molasses (spirits and fuel) and press mud (organic fertiliser).
- Conversion rate helps track sugar diverted to the Ethanol Blending Programme, manage buffer stocks and compute the farmers’ revenue-sharing formula.
- 25-km rule: stops cane poaching and gives each mill a reserved catchment area, stabilising finances for mills and farmers.
- Consultation: stakeholders may send comments until 20 May 2026.
Exam angle
- Nodal department: Department of Food and Public Distribution; order dates from 1966.
- Numbers: 14 days, 15%, 600 litres per tonne, 25 km.
- Related terms: FRP, arrears of land revenue, Ethanol Blending Programme, bagasse, press mud.