The sugar industry's standoff with the Uttar Pradesh government deteriorated on Thursday with the latter refusing to reduce the price that mills pay for cane and promised strict legal action if they did not restart production by next week. 

The industry has shut its mills, demanding that the government cut cane price because production has become unviable due to low sugar price and high cane price. "A new and final deadline for starting the mills is being issued. Mills in west Uttar Prad ..