Heavy September rains ensure normal monsoon for third straight year
India’s 2021 monsoon season officially came to an end on Thursday, marking a third consecutive year of normal summer rains and setting the stage for another year of record-high kharif crop production.
Strong precipitation in September almost made up for the patchy performance in July and most of August, the official forecaster said.
The monsoon rainfall may persist for some more time in October as the moisture-laden winds continue to blow across the country, which could further shrink the deficit.
Nearly 17 mn tonnes of surplus foodgrains to be used for ethanol making: Food Secy
The government on Friday said around 17 million tonnes of surplus foodgrains will be utilised, apart from sugarcane molasses, for manufacturing ethanol to achieve the target of 20 per cent blending with petrol by 2025. Addressing a webinar organised by sugar industry body ISMA, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said the government is encouraging ethanol production not only from molasses but also from foodgrains like maize and rice to achieve the blending targets.
He said the country has been producing surplus sugar production of about 4-4.5 million tonnes for the last few years, with the production of over 30 million tonnes and domestic demand of around 26 million tonnes.
Centre doubles incentive on sugar sacrificed for producing ethanol from October 2021
With a view to encourage sugar mills to divert excess sugar cane/sugar to ethanol & to achieve targets of blending ethanol with petrol in line with Ethanol Blended with Petrol program, incentive on sugar sacrificed for producing ethanol from B-heavy molasses/sugarcane juice/sugar syrup/sugar has been doubled from October 2021, onwards in their monthly release quota. Now, those sugar mills which will be diverting sugar to ethanol would be getting the entire quantity of sugar sacrificed on producing ethanol from B-heavy molasses/sugarcane juice/sugar syrup/sugar in their monthly release quota, informed the Food Ministry in a statement.
