Karnataka sugarcane farmers pause protests, give government November 26 deadline
India
Karnataka's sugarcane farmers have hit pause on their protests after meeting Food Minister Pralhad Joshi.
They've given the government until November 26 to meet their main demands: raising the fair and remunerative price (FRP) to ₹4,500-5,500 per ton and bumping up the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar from ₹31 to ₹60 per kg.
Central government forms Ramesh Chand committee
To address these concerns, the central government has formed a committee led by Prof. Ramesh Chand, former member of NITI Aayog.
Karnataka's Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has also reached out to Prime Minister Modi about state-level changes, like stricter weighbridge checks and new quality rules for sugar mills.
Farmers say these price hikes are necessary since cultivation costs have risen sharply.