Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 24: Transport minister Nitin Gadkari wants sugar mills to look beyond plain sugar. He sees compressed bio-gas, ethanol and aviation fuel shaping their future. Diversification, he argues, could lift farm incomes.
India’s sugar mills have long depended on a single product. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, wants mills to become bioenergy producers. He urged them to produce gas for CNG vehicles and fuel for aircraft.
He made the case at the National Efficiency Awards ceremony. The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories organised the event.
Beyond Plain Sugar: The Diversification Pitch
Gadkari named four products mills should add to their output. They are compressed bio-gas, ethanol, bio-manure and sustainable aviation fuel.
“The future of plain sugar is mediocre at best,” he said. By-products, in his argument, offer the industry a stronger footing. Better use of sugarcane, he added, could also raise farmer returns.
E20 Petrol Widens the Biofuel Opening
The call follows India’s shift from E10 to E20 petrol. E20 petrol contains 20% ethanol. Ethanol is one of the by-products Gadkari wants mills to expand.
India’s CBG Gap Remains Large
Compressed bio-gas sits at the centre of Gadkari’s pitch. He said India could produce 50,000 tonnes of CBG per day. Current output, he said, is only around 2% of that potential.
Some 1,908 CBG plants have been registered nationwide, according to Gadkari. Only 132 of them are operational so far.
Agricultural Waste Becomes an Energy Feedstock
Gadkari said technology now allows CBG production from varied biomass. He cited stubble, bamboo, rice straw, bagasse and Napier grass. Such waste, he argued, should not end up in road embankments.
The process begins with anaerobic digestion of organic material. This yields biogas, later purified and compressed into methane-rich CBG.
CBG is closely related to CNG, or compressed natural gas. CNG methane comes mainly from conventional natural-gas reserves. CBG methane comes from decomposed organic matter. Once purified, CBG has properties similar to natural gas. It can therefore potentially fuel CNG vehicles through the existing gas ecosystem.
Rural Economics and Farmer Income
Gadkari said added value could eventually let mills pay ₹6,000 per tonne of sugarcane. That compares with the current ₹4,000, he noted.
He also cited ₹22 lakh crore spent importing petrol, diesel and gas. Turning waste into CBG, he said, could help reduce those imports. He projected ₹2.5 lakh crore flowing into the rural economy. The push could create up to 15 lakh jobs, he added.
GOBARdhan Adds Policy Scale
Gadkari cited mandatory procurement obligations and a fixed price of ₹106 per kg. The Cabinet has approved GOBARdhan, the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme. It carries an outlay of ₹23,731 crore. The scheme runs from FY2026-27 to FY2035-36. It aims to raise domestic CBG production nearly ten-fold.
A Test for Sugar Mills’ Next Chapter
For sugar mills, the question is whether they can become integrated bioenergy businesses. Gadkari has set out a pathway through CBG, ethanol and aviation fuel. Whether plain sugar’s future brightens through by-products remains to be seen.
