Taking a cue from the Centre, which offered interest-free loan of Rs. 6,000 crore to sugar mills to ease the situation, the Karnataka government is also exploring “various avenues” to pay arrears to cane growers.
Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda told reporters on Friday that the government is exploring options, including taking financial assistance from the Centre.
Attributing the crisis to the dip in price of sugar, Mr. Gowda said even the Centre was taking correcting measures, including increasing import duty on sugar from 25 per cent to 40 per cent. “But the situation is not improving because of the continuous fall in sugar price,” he said.
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To a query on farmers’ suicide in the State, he said the number had decreased in the last 10 years because of the interest-free-loan scheme offered by the government.
Govt. is exploring options such as taking financial assistance from the Centre: Minister