Mumbai, Sep 9: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led high-level committee on Wednesday decided to advance the upcoming sugarcane crushing season for 2026-27 to October 15.

The state government’s decision comes when soaring sugar prices during the festive season have strained household budgets across Maharashtra.

The state government hopes the commencement of sugarcane crushing season from October 15 instead of November 1 demanded by sugar factories will stabilise the market and ensure an adequate supply of sugar.

This marks an earlier rollout compared to previous operational years, following seasons that started on November 1, 2025, and November 15, 2024, respectively.

The meeting was attended by Co-operation Minister Babasaheb Patil, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, former Minister Dilip Walse Patil, along with legislators and representatives from factory associations.

The move comes as retail sugar prices jumped to Rs 70–75 per kg in August due to a domestic supply crunch caused by lower production last season.

Normally, the crushing season commences in November.

However, with major festivals like Navratri, Dussehra, and Diwali approaching—and following advisories from the Central government to top-producing states — the Maharashtra administration decided to begin operations nearly a month early to prevent further price spikes.

The proposed October 15 start date has, however, met with opposition from sugar mill owners and farmers.

Industry representatives said that starting the crushing process before November is financially disadvantageous for both factories and growers due to lower sugarcane maturity and sugar recovery rates at that time of the year.

Despite the pushback from millers, the state government remains focused on controlling inflation and stabilising supply before the peak festive period.

Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil said, “The decision to advance the sugarcane crushing season from October 15 was taken in the wake of festive season and also to avoid damage to the standing sugarcane.”

According to crop estimations prepared by the Agriculture Department and MITCON, the state expects sugarcane cultivation across 15.43 to 15.48 lakh hectares.

Total cane production is projected to reach 1,238 to 1,250 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), yielding an estimated 990 to 1,000 LMT of cane for crushing.

Net sugar production is anticipated to hover between 96.45 and 97.58 LMT at a net recovery rate of 9.75 per cent, after diverting nearly 15 LMT of sugar equivalent toward ethanol production.

Reviewing the performance of the preceding 2025–26 crushing season (as of August 31, 2026), official records revealed that 210 sugar mills (102 cooperative and 108 private) processed 1,045 LMT of sugarcane.

Minister Patil said that the arrears payable by the sugar mills towards Fair and Remunerative Price are of the order of Rs 200 crore.

He added that the state government is taking action against such mills for clearing the dues.

He told that these mills won’t be entitled to get crushing license for the upcoming season.

New Delhi, Sep 9: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved five multitracking railway projects with an investment of Rs 10,021 crore.

The five projects, covering 17 districts across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 540 km. The multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 2,121 villages, with a total population of about 52 lakh.

These projects include the Arakkonam–Renigunta 3rd and 4th Line over a stretch of 77 km, Whitefield–Bangarapet 3rd and 4th Line, 47 kms, Hosur-Omalur Doubling, over 147 km, Salem–Karur–Dindigul Doubling, amounting to 159 km, and Secunderabad (Ghatkesar)–Kazipet, extending to 110 km, according to an official statement.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking projects are poised to alleviate congestion and are scheduled to be completed by 2029-30.

The projects are planned under the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with a focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity and logistics efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.

The approved capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including Tirupati, Subramaniya Swamy Temple (Tiruttani), Sri Padmavati Ammavaari Temple (Tiruchanur), Kotilingeshwara Devaalaya, Sri Seethi Byraveshwara Swamy Temple, Bangaru Tirupati, Kolar Gold Fields, Hogennakkal Falls, Hosur Fort, Mettur Dam, Kodaikanal Hills, Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary, Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple, Namakkal Fort, Kalyana Pasupatheswar Temple, Yadagirigutta Temple, Bhongir Fort, Surendrapuri, and Swarnagiri Temple.

These projects are also essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, iron and steel, containers, automobiles, food grains, petroleum products, fertilisers, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 47 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways, being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising logistics costs of the country, reduce oil imports by around 8 crore litres and lower CO2 emissions by 42 crore kg, which is equivalent to the plantation of around 2 crore trees, the statement added.

New Delhi, Sep 9: Asking Indians to step away from the jewellery counter ahead of the festival season carries political risks. Gold in India is more than a commodity. It is a form of savings, an intergenerational asset and a deeply entrenched cultural tradition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public plea to avoid unnecessary gold purchases puts concern about the import bill up against long-standing buying habits and the interests of the domestic jewellery trade.

The electoral calendar adds a political dimension. Next year, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab head to the polls. The domestic gold trade includes merchant communities that have traditionally formed part of the BJP’s support base.

A sustained decline in gold buying could depress jewellery sales and unsettle sections of that constituency ahead of these elections. The appeal suggests a willingness to deliver an uncomfortable economic message, although its political cost will depend on whether consumers respond and how the trade is affected.

The economic concern is the rising bullion import bill amid wars and global uncertainty. Higher international gold prices have increased the cost of meeting Indian demand, even as import volumes have declined. According to data reported by The Economic Times, India’s gold imports rose more than 24 per cent to an all-time high of $71.98 billion in 2025–26. This occurred even as the volume imported fell nearly 4.8 per cent to roughly 721 tonnes.

India bought less physical gold but paid a substantially higher dollar bill. Gold imports add to the demand for foreign exchange. A surge in festive buying can therefore widen the trade deficit and, depending on other external flows, add to pressure on the rupee.

However, framing PM Modi’s appeal purely as a response to global gold prices offers incomplete context. It also draws attention to the government’s limited progress in reducing dependence on imported crude oil. Earlier ambitions to bring down that dependence have proved difficult to realise.

With limited scope to curb essential oil imports without affecting economic activity, discretionary imports become a more accessible target. Gold is an obvious candidate, although restraining purchases would not resolve the underlying dependence on imported energy.

Nor is all gold buying simply consumption that households can readily postpone. For many buyers, it is also a means of saving and providing financial security. That complicates the attempt to influence demand through an appeal for restraint.

Reducing gold imports requires more than a Prime Ministerial plea. It also requires more effective ways to bring existing domestic holdings into circulation and offer alternatives to those buying gold primarily as an investment. Indian households and religious institutions are estimated to hold 20,000 25,000 tonnes of physical gold. This represents substantial wealth, but much of it remains outside formal financial channels. Efforts to mobilise it have met with limited success.

The Gold Monetisation Scheme struggled to attract household gold, partly because families are reluctant to melt down ancestral jewellery in return for interest. Sovereign Gold Bonds offered an alternative for investors seeking exposure to gold prices, but could not substitute for jewellery bought to wear, gift or pass on.

The distinction matters. A gold-linked financial investment and a family heirloom serve different purposes. The difficulty is not simply that policy has failed to turn physical gold into a financial asset. It is that financial products cannot fully replace the cultural and practical uses of jewellery.

Without addressing those differences, efforts to shift demand away from physical gold will have limits.

There are precedents for PM Modi taking decisions that unsettled established interests, including sections of his own support base. But comparisons between the gold appeal and structural reforms need care.

As Chief Minister of Gujarat, he implemented the Jyotigram Yojana, which separated agricultural power feeders from those supplying other rural consumers. The programme faced resistance from sections of the farming community but changed how rural electricity was supplied.

As Prime Minister, his government introduced the Goods and Services Tax, seeking to create a unified national market. The transition brought significant adjustment and compliance costs, particularly for smaller businesses and traders, including communities traditionally associated with the BJP.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code similarly challenged the position of established business promoters. It provided creditors with a framework to resolve defaulting companies, potentially displacing existing owners. Its implementation has also exposed shortcomings requiring further reform.

These measures changed institutions, rules and incentives. An appeal to avoid gold purchases relies instead on voluntary restraint. It may reflect a willingness to challenge established preferences, but it is not equivalent to a change in taxation, credit rules or the organisation of an essential service.

Its economic effect will depend on whether households alter their buying decisions. The intention to ease external pressures is clear; the scale and durability of the response are not.

Demonetisation in 2016, ahead of the following year’s Uttar Pradesh election, provides another example of a disruptive intervention before a major political contest. It does not, however, establish that taking an electoral risk necessarily produces economic gains.

The gold appeal is also materially different. Rather than imposing a sudden policy change, PM Modi is asking consumers to give greater weight to the national economic cost of their purchases. Whether that argument outweighs considerations of tradition, savings and expected returns remains uncertain.

The immediate gamble is that some households will defer buying without a wider backlash from the jewellery trade. Even then, postponed purchases may return later, limiting the lasting effect on imports.

PM Modi’s intervention brings the foreign-exchange cost of gold into the public debate. But the test is not the boldness of the appeal. It is whether the appeal changes demand, and whether policy can provide credible savings alternatives and make better use of gold already held in India. Political gains, should they follow, would be a separate outcome.

(Rakesh Khar is a seasoned editor. He writes at the intersection of politics, business, technology and society. Views expressed are personal)