India’s top sugarcane and sugar producer-state has received investment proposals of more than Rs 16,000 crore in the growing ethanol sector, Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (sugarcane and excise) Sanjay Bhoosreddy has said.
Ethanol is a sugar byproduct and has multiple downstream industrial and chemical sector uses, including blending with fossil fuels, alcohol, medicines, etc.
Uttar Pradesh tops the India chart in ethanol-blended fuel ratio owing to the ready availability and robust logistics supply chain. UP and Maharashtra together account for around 60% of the country’s sugarcane and sugar output.
According to the proposals, the companies will set up distilleries, breweries, microbrewery, malt and yeast manufacturing plants, etc. The Yogi Adityanath government has signed 17 memorandum of understanding for setting up ethanol and alcohol-related production units in the state. Over the past five years, private distilleries have pumped in Rs 7,500 crore to upgrade ethanol capacity.
“The state has now issued letters of intent (LoIs) for the private investment of Rs 1,400 crore,” Bhoosreddy said. In the run-up to the two-day UP Global Investors Summit (GIS), which will be held in Lucknow from February 10, the state is ramping up its kitty of private investment proposals. The state plans to attract Rs 1.7 trillion worth of private investments at the big-ticket event, which is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.