The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday gave its nod for a lower price of procurement for ethanol under the Ethanol Blending Program (EBP) by oil marketing companies.
An official statement said, “The revised price of ethanol would be fixed at ₹40.85 a litre under EBP and will be applicable for the forthcoming sugar season 2017-18”.
The new price is a sharp cut from the earlier delivered price of ethanol during ethanol supply year 2014-15 and 2015-16 that was in the range of ₹48.50 to ₹49.50 per litre including Central and State government taxes and transportation charges.
But this time, GST and transportation charges will also be payable additionally.
The revised price will be applicable during ethanol supply period from December 1, 2017 to November 30, 2018, the statement added.
Fertiliser subsidy The CCEA also gave an ex-post facto approval for a Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) for payment of outstanding subsidy to fertiliser companies during 2016-17.
Under the SBA, a total loan of ₹9,969 crore for settlement of outstanding subsidy bills with the State Bank of India (SBI) was raised by the government.
The loan amount along with interest liability on the government’s part amounting to ₹80.90 crore were paid to SBI, the statement added.
This SBA of ₹10,000 crore for the year 2016-17 has already been implemented to overcome the liquidity problems of the fertiliser companies.
According to the statement, in future, the Department of Fertilisers would avail the SBA with the concurrence of Department of Expenditure.
Trade pact with Ethiopia The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval for a trade agreement between India and Ethiopia for strengthening and promoting trade and economic cooperation.
Armenia Customs pact An agreement between India and Armenia on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters also got the Cabinet’s nod. This Agreement will help in the availability of relevant information for the prevention and investigation of Customs offences, the statement added.