NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved an interest-free loan of Rs 6,000 crore to enable sugar mills pay arrears to farmers, which is hovering around Rs 19,000 crore. The government also announced to import pulses in "large quantity" to keep domestic prices under check. 

TOI on Wednesday had reported that the government was likely to take these two decisions. 

The Centre will have to bear an interest burden of about Rs 600 crore for providing the interest-free loan to millers and claims this was being done to benefit farmers rather than bailing out the millers. "CCEA has provided a one-year moratorium on this loan," an official statement said. It also decided that the loans would be provided to those units which clear at least 50% of their outstanding arrears before June 30. 
 

Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said that sugar mills will prepare the list of farmers and on the basis of that, the amount will be directly transferred by banks into the Jan Dhan accounts of farmers. Gadkari said that Centre will dip into the sugar development fund (SDF) for the Rs 600 crore, which will help clear arrears outstanding till June. 

NItin Gadkari said that the Cabinet also discussed rising prices of pulses and expressed concern about the trend. "Prime Minister has directed to import pulses in large quantity to keep domestic prices under check," he said. Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that the modalities of the quantity and the agency that will import the pulses will be finalized soon.