Pawar said earlier this month that the government was considering giving sugar mills as much as USD 1.17 billion in interest-free loans.
The government has announced the minimum prices for 2013-2014 keeping in mind all the aspects.. SP government in one go had hiked the prices by Rs 40 (per quintal) whereas the previous government used to raise it by Rs 10 at a time, Yadav said.
According to ISMA's Abhinash Verma, the move by the UP government is 100 percent disappointment. "Last year, there was no purchase tax and this is just Rs 2. It is peanuts and doesn‘t mean anything," he adds.
In the meeting held by the senior Cabinet ministers in the afternoon, the finance minister said that the Cabinet will take a decision on the sugar issue, next week. However, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said no decision was taken, as the central government is not in the position to give any money.
The mill owners are willing to pay Rs 225 for a quintal of sugar. The state government has advised a price of Rs 280, difference of Rs 55, the sugar business feels can be met either by way of a direct subsidy by the UP government or through a couple of other options.
Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said: "The government is not in a position to give any money."