The Hindu Business Line : Y.S.P. Thorat to head expert panel on sugar economy

What is said to be ‘different’ about the latest committee is that its terms of reference go beyond the industry, to also look into issues specific to sugarcane growers.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Jan. 14

The Centre has appointed Dr Y.S.P. Thorat to head the Expert Committee on the sugar economy in place of Dr Vijay Kelkar, who has recently taken over as Chairman of the 13th Finance Commission.

Developing plans

The Expert Committee under Dr Kelkar was set up in August “to study the present state of the sugar economy of India and to develop short, medium and long-term perspective plans for strengthening it in the context of the emerging national and international scenario and the requirements of the food security of the country.”

While the committee was expected to submit its report in six months and even held a couple of meetings, its could not make much headway, following Dr Kelkar’s appointment as Finance Commission chief in mid-November. Consequently, a replacement had to be found and the Centre finally narrowed in on Dr Thorat, who retired as Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) on November 30.

Report in 6 months

“The committee has been given a further six months to finish its job. We expect its report by July,” an official at the Food Ministry confirmed to Business Line. Other members in the committee include the former Food Secretary Mr S.K. Tuteja; the Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), Dr T. Haque; the Managing Director of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Mr P. Uma Shankar; the Director of the National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, Dr R.P. Shukla; the Director-General of the Vasandada Sugar Institute, Pune, Mr Shivajirao C. Deshmukh; and the Director in Asia of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Dr Ashok Gulati.

Not the 1st one

The present committee is not the first one set up to study the working of the sugar industry and make comprehensive policy recommendations. There was first the Sugar Industry Enquiry Commission under Mr V. Bhargava (which submitted its report in 1974) and subsequently the High Powered Committee on Sugar Industry under Mr B.B. Mahajan (1998). Even more recent was Committee on Revitalisation of Sugar Industry under Mr S.K. Tuteja, which gave its report in December 2004 (just about the time when the industry was recovering from a crisis phase prior to the current one, which, in turn, could well end when the new committee comes out with its findings!).

Terms of reference

What is said to be ‘different’ about the latest committee is that its terms of reference go beyond the industry, to also look into issues specific to sugarcane growers. The Tuteja Committee, for instance, examined ways to revitalise the sugar industry. Accordingly, it suggested decontrol for mills in terms of dispensing with the monthly release mechanism (regulating the quantity of sugar sold by each factory), converting unlifted levy sugar into free sale sugar, rescheduling of loans, etc. But when it came to the growers’ interest, it recommended that the minimum radial distance between two factories be raised from 15 km to 25 km.

To study existing regulations

The present committee, on the other hand, has been asked to suggest measures for deregulation by studying the existing regulations and controls over the sugar industry as well as sugarcane farming. Other terms of reference include: “To examine aspects such as water, fertiliser and energy usage in sugarcane cultivation and to suggest ways to bring about economies in their usage and to improve farm productivity, recovery of sugar and net income of farmers” and “to study the existing crushing and refining capacities and recommend their augmentation keeping in view domestic consumption and opportunities for export of sugar”.