Lok Sabha Question No. 599 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-03
Subject: Cooperative Sugar Mills
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 599 TO BE ANSWERED ON  3 rd  FEBRUARY, 2026

## COOPERATIVE SUGAR MILLS:

## 599. Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo:

Will the Minister of COOPERATION ( सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has assessed the current operational and financial status of the 312 Cooperative Sugar Mills (CSMs) across the country, including the number of mills that are inoperative or facing financial distress, and the regions most affected;

(b) whether details are available regarding loans disbursed under the Central Sector Scheme 'Grant -inaid  to  NCDC  for  strengthening  of  CSMs',  including  the  amounts  allocated  for ethanol plants, cogeneration power projects, and working capital and the number of CSMs benefitted;

(c)  whether  the  Government  has  data  on  the  impact  of  the  scheme  on  the  livelihoods  of sugarcane farmers and workers, particularly in rural and tribal belts such as those in Odisha and surrounding regions; and

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the interest subvention, repayment performance and the measures taken to ensure efficient monitoring and recovery of NCDC loans under this scheme?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

(a) The Ministry , to  alleviate  the  operational  &  financial  distress  of  Cooperative  Sugar Mills , unveiled a scheme titled 'Central Sector Scheme-Grant-in-aid to  NCDC  for strengthening  of  Cooperative  Sugar  Mills'.  The  Ministry  while  conducting  third  party evaluation  of  the  scheme,  found  out  102  of  the  312  cooperative  sugar  mills  to  be  nonfunctional. The Ministry in consultation with States concerned is working for revival of viable non-functional mills.

(b) Under Central Sector Scheme 'Grant -inAid to NCDC for strengthening of CSMs' grant of ₹1000 Cr. was provided by Central Government to NCDC to enable it to provide loans of ₹10,000 Cr. to CSMs by leveraging the grant-in-aid. NCDC in turn has disbursed ₹10,005 Cr. to CSMs under the scheme.

-The amount disbursed for ethanol plants is ₹251.40 Cr.

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(c) The Ministry got a 3rd party evaluation conducted for the impact of the scheme. It was found that the NCDC assistance offered relatively lesser rate of interest than counterparts and set  a  benchmark  for  other  banks  and  financial  institutions  in  terms  of  transparency, documentation and easy access enabling CSM easy access to finance. As a result, outstanding Cane bills reduced significantly indicating smooth business operations and timely payout to

The amount disbursed for Cogen power is ₹97.12 Cr . & The amount disbursed for working capital is ₹9656.90 Cr . Totally 56 Cooperative Sugar mills have benefitted under the scheme. farmers & workers.

(d)  The  scheme  did  not  have  any  interest  subvention  component.  NCDC,  as  the  nodal implementation agency for the scheme has robust guidelines for recovery monitored by its Board of Management .

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