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Rs 80,000 crore sugar industry decontrolled

The centre on Thursday decided to decontrol the country’s Rs 80,000 crore ($15.5 billion) sugar industry, in line with suggestions of the panel headed by Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the proposal at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In its report submitted last October, the Rangarajan-led 'expert' committee had recommended lifting all controls on the sugar industry. India is the world's second largest producer of sugar at nearly 340 million tonnes (mt) and the annual output is worth around Rs.80,000 crore ($15.5 billion).

The livelihood of 50 million farmers depends on the industry, which employs 500,000 people directly at the mills.
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