Uttar Pradesh govt looks beyond sugar mills with khandsari, gur units

Government plans to adopt Brazilian model where mills can shift to ethanol

To give cane farmers a viable alternative to only sugar mills as their buyers, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to revive and boost the state's jaggery (gur) and khandsari (unrefied sugar, made from thickened cane syrup) industries.

This would also, it thinks, boost entrepreneurship, create jobs and spur the rural economy. One plus for farmers in selling to gur or khandsari units is that they offer spot payment to farmers, without much supply and weighing hassles. Unlike sugar mills, which are also allowed a window of 14 days to settle payment.

At one point, there were about 5,000 khandsari units in