NOIDA: Taking note of the pressing issue of cane arrears of farmers of western Uttar Pradesh due to several reasons including falling global prices of sugar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked the sugar manufacturers to produce more ethanol and reduce making of the sweetner.

"Our sugarcane farmers from western UP add sweets to many lives across the country, but their backbone is broken when global prices of sugar fall," Modi said. He said while successive governments have taken temporary measures by providing some relief to farmers, the NDA government has taken decision to increase the blending of ethanol in transport fuel. He said use of this clean fuel will also reduce air pollution across the region.