The state government's focus on Sugar Industry is beginning to show its effect. The state government has received 28 investment proposals for new sugar mills, which will bring more than Rs. 6,500 crores to Bihar. Besides that, the existing sugar mills are also planning to expand their crushing capacity.
"Bihar is one of the major sugar cane producers in the country," said Industry Secretary Naveen Verma, "but, number of sugar mills are too few. It reduces our sugar producing capacity. Therefore, we decided to put special emphasis on this area. The state government has taken many steps for attracting investors, which are now showing its effects. In last few years, we received many proposals for establishing new sugar mills in the state."
He told, "Out of these, 28 investment proposals have already been cleared by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB). These proposals will bring investment worth Rs. 6,507 crores and provide employment to thousands of people."
Encouraged by the changing scenario, the existing sugar mills in the state are also planning big capex. According to the data, provided by the state government, 10 existing sugar mills have proposed to increase their crushing capacity, which will bring investment worth Rs. 1,000 crores. Three of these mills are also installing ethanol and captive power plants.
This has, obviously, encouraged state government officials. One of these officials stated, "The climate of Bihar is very suitable for cane production. In comparison with southern states, the crop, in Bihar, just needs two rounds of irrigation. However, we are still lagging far behind in the recovery rate, which is almost 14 percent in those states. However, we have now taken this very seriously and aimed for a recovery rate of 13 percent in next five years. For this, we have planned to introduce new variety of seeds. Research work, in this regard, is in progress at state agriculture university."
In last few years, the state government has been successful in leasing out many of its closed sugar mills. Since 2008, it has given 8 of its 15 closed sugar mills on lease to different PSUs and private companies. Production has already begun at two (Sugauli and Lauria, now owned by HPCL) of these mills.
