Under Sugar Development Fund Act (SDF), 1982, loans were given to sugar mills, inter-alia, for modernisation cum expansion of sugar mill, cane development, bagasse-based cogeneration power projects, production of anhydrous alcohol or ethanol/zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant. Under the said Scheme, an amount of Rs 9,005 crores was disbursed to the sugar mills as SDF loans, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya informed the Lok Sabha.
The disbursement details are below:
| S. No. | Type of SDF Loan | Amount Disbursed (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modernization | ₹ 3,375 |
| 2 | Cane Development | ₹ 1,074 |
| 3 | Co-generation | ₹ 3,369 |
| 4 | Ethanol / ZLD | ₹ 1,187 |
The scheme for providing financial assistance to the sugar mills has been closed with effect from 21.09.2021. However, the SDF loan cases where Administrative Approval had already been issued before closure were considered in the Department. At present, no Administrative approval is pending for loan disbursement.
While responding to a question on the amount of cess collected from sugar mills and the actual amount utilized, she stated, “A sugar cess amounting to Rs. 12,834 crore was collected upto 30.06.2017 (cess was abolished by Central Government on introduction of Central Goods and Services Act, 2017). Out of this, till 31.03.2018, an amount of Rs. 10,196 crore was transferred to the Sugar Development Fund and was utilised for implementation of various schemes under SDF Act, 1982 and SDF Rules. 1983. The balance in cess account was transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India. Since 2018-19, the expenditure under the scheme was met through normal budgetary provision.”
