Gadkari Urges Sugar Mills to Diversify into CBG, Ethanol and Sustainable Fuels.

Biofuels and Value-Added Products Could Boost Mill Revenues and Farmer Payments.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has urged sugar mills to diversify beyond conventional sugar production and expand into compressed biogas (CBG), ethanol, bio-manure and sustainable aviation fuel. Speaking at the National Efficiency Awards ceremony, Gadkari said value-added products from sugarcane and agricultural waste could create additional revenue streams, strengthen rural economies and reduce India’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. He said converting waste such as bagasse, rice straw, stubble, bamboo and Napier grass into CBG could help mills improve their financial viability and potentially increase payments to farmers. Gadkari estimated that such diversification could enable sugar mills to pay up to ₹6,000 per tonne of sugarcane, compared with around ₹4,000 currently. He also highlighted India’s large fossil-fuel import bill and the potential of biofuels to reduce imports. According to him, 1,908 CBG plants have been registered across the country, with 132 currently operational. India’s estimated CBG production potential is around 50,000 tonnes per day, while current output remains a small fraction of that capacity.