CHANDIGARH, Jan. 21 -- The Punjab cabinet on Tuesday approved a direct subsidy of Rs.68.5 per quintal for sugarcane farmers for the 2025-26 crushing season. The subsidy will be paid directly to growers on behalf of private sugar mills and will be in addition to the state advised price (SAP) of Rs.416 per quintal, which remains the highest in the country.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Mann. The state offers the highest SAP for sugarcane in the country at Rs.416 per quintal, an increase of Rs.15 from the previous year. The cane crushing season began in December last year.

This season sugarcane was sown over one lakh hectares, particularly in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar and Hosh...