Maharashtra: Rs 10 cr bank guarantee mandated for leased sugar mills to ensure FRP payments
Mumbai (PTI): A bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore has been mandated for sugar mills in Maharashtra operating on a lease or partnership basis to ensure the timely payment of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) to sugarcane farmers, officials said on Monday.
The state Cooperation Department's decision aims to secure FRP dues during the crushing season, though concerns have been raised that the amount may be inadequate given the scale of operations of most such mills.
According to officials, many cooperative sugar factories are financially stressed and have been given on lease or partnership under norms based on provisions of the securitisation law. While eligibility criteria for operating such mills had been laid down earlier, there was no clear mechanism to ensure timely FRP payments.
Under the new decision, at the time of entering into lease or partnership agreements and while applying for crushing licences, the company or agency taking over the mill or another sugar factory will have to furnish a minimum bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore in the name of the Sugar Commissioner.
If FRP is not paid on time during the crushing season, the dues of cane suppliers, along with interest for the delayed period, will be recovered from the bank guarantee. Any balance amount remaining after settlement of FRP dues will be returned after the end of the crushing season upon submission of a no-dues certificate, officials said.
They added that district collectors have been empowered to invoke the bank guarantee to ensure payment of FRP.
The order also provides that in case of default, coercive action cannot be taken against the immovable and movable assets of the original cooperative sugar factory. Instead, recovery proceedings, including attachment, may be initiated against the movable and immovable assets of the operating agency or company, as well as against sugar, molasses, bagasse and other by-products produced by the mill.
Commenting on the decision, farmers' leader Raju Shetti said the move was welcome but the guarantee amount should be much higher.
"Most cooperative sugar factories in the state are financially sick and have been given on lease. Their crushing capacity ranges between 3,000 and 5,000 tonnes per day. They have to pay at least Rs 100 to Rs 150 crore as FRP. In such a scenario, a Rs 10 crore bank guarantee is too low and should be increased," Shetti said.
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Union government assumes full control over TV ratings, TRAI role curtailed: Report
New Delhi: The Union government has assumed full control over television audience measurement, removing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from oversight of the ratings system that underpins the country’s ₹36,000 crore television advertising market, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report in Mint said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) now has exclusive authority over the framework governing how television ratings are measured and regulated. TRAI had been entrusted with oversight of TV ratings in 2012 during the UPA government’s tenure. TRAI is no longer mentioned in the relevant policy document, effectively vesting sole authority in the MIB.
The report said TRAI will continue to regulate other aspects of broadcasting, including channel pricing, advertising caps, interconnection and distribution norms, service quality and compliance standards. Its role in determining how ratings agencies track viewing behaviour has been withdrawn.
Television Rating Points (TRPs), which reflect viewership patterns, guide advertisers in deciding where to allocate spending across channels and time slots.
A government source quoted in the report said the ministry could modify TRAI’s decisions even when the regulator oversaw broadcasting.
A former CEO of Prasar Bharati told the newspaper that the MIB has historically regulated rating agencies through licensing and guidelines, and by holding them accountable under existing norms.
During its tenure overseeing ratings, TRAI had taken decisions affecting the broadcast sector, which included capping advertising time at 12 minutes per hour following complaints about excessive commercial breaks and it now remains unclear how these matters will be addressed under the revised arrangement.
Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI, was quoted as saying that merging regulatory functions with policy oversight and removing an independent regulator from the process was a retrograde step.
TRAI’s involvement in broadcasting had earlier attracted criticism as well. In 2012, its consultation paper on quantitative limits on television advertising was viewed by some as overlapping with the Advertising Standards Council of India’s code. Subsequent recommendations covering television audience measurement, ownership of news channels and issues such as paid news had also raised concerns among sections of the industry.
Television ratings have faced scrutiny in recent years, including during the controversy involving the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), where officials of the ratings body were prosecuted over allegations of manipulation of viewership data.
