Ahilyanagar, Oct 5 (PTI) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said 15 cooperative sugar mills across the country will be selected for National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) funding to set up compressed biogas (CBG) and potash production plants.

Speaking at the inauguration of a CBG unit, a spray dryer and potash granule manufacturing facility at Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Kolhe Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana in Kopargaon tehsil of Ahilyanagar district, Shah said the projects mark a new chapter in India's cooperative sector.

"I want to tell director Vivek Kolhe that this work will spread across the country. The Modi government will select 15 cooperative sugar mills for NCDC funding to set up such plants on their premises. It will be a new beginning," he said.

The minister said that the units launched at Kopargaon are the first of their kind in the country.

"The CBG plant, built at a cost of Rs 55 crore, will produce 12 tonnes of CBG and 75 tonnes of potash daily. Both these products are currently imported, and this initiative will save foreign exchange while promoting the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision," he said.

The project had already tied up with GAIL, BPCL, IFFCO and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers for the purchase of CBG, Shah said, adding that the move is aimed at achieving a circular economy.

Lauding Maharashtra's cooperative legacy, Shah said the state, which had once pioneered the sugar cooperative movement, should now lead the way in the circular economy sector.

"I want to tell Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar that if Maharashtra supports such mills, the Union government will also extend all assistance," he said.

Calling for diversification, Shah said every profit-making sugar mill should also start fruit processing.

"It will encourage fruit cultivation and provide additional income to mills," he added.

Referring to the recently approved Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, Shah said the Union government has sanctioned Rs 11,440 crore for the six-year programme from 2025-26 to 2030-31.

"We will set up 1,000 processing units for pulses and distribute 38 lakh high-quality seed kits to farmers," he said.

Shah also said that the recent GST reforms have eased the burden on the farming sector.

"The tax on tractors, their parts, harvesters, threshers, beekeeping equipment, sprinklers, drip irrigation systems and poultry machinery has been reduced to five per cent, which will save farmers' costs," he said.

Highlighting the importance of domestic production, the minister said, "PM Modi has brought India's economy to the fourth position. We are very close to becoming the third-largest economy in the world. However, to become the number one economy, there is no option other than swadeshi. Every citizen should embrace indigenous products." PTI ND ARU

Cooperative sugar mills to receive NCDC funding for CBG and potash plants to boost domestic production and circular economy. Selection of 15 cooperative sugar mills for NCDC funding will enable on-site development of compressed biogas (CBG) and potash production facilities to substitute imports and support a circular economy; the inaugural CBG and potash complex has specified capital cost and daily production capacities and secured purchase agreements, forming a replicable model for cooperative-led energy and fertilizer self-reliance.