The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved an estimated Rs 738.51 crore interest subsidy for soft loans to cooperative sugar mills, mainly to help them clear pending Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) dues to sugarcane farmers for the 2025-26 crushing season, media reports say.
Mills without outstanding FRP dues can use the loans for preparatory work ahead of the 2026-27 season.
As many as 102 cooperative sugar mills crushed 527.51 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane during 2025-26, with several facing financial difficulties.
Loans sanctioned and disbursed by banks up to October 31, 2026, will qualify for the subsidy. The repayment period will be seven years from October 1, 2026, with the government bearing interest at 10% per annum or the actual bank rate, whichever is lower.
The scheme follows similar soft-loan initiatives introduced by Maharashtra in 2015 and 2019 to support cooperative sugar mills.
