India's Balrampur Chini Mills starts PLA bioplastic pilot with government backing

Indian science minister Jitendra Singh formally launched commercial-scale work on bio-based PLA (polylactic acid) plastic led by sugar producer Balrampur Chini Mills, under the government's BioE3 biotechnology programme. A grant of INR 750m (USD 7.8m) from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council is funding a 100 tonnes-per-annum pilot facility for PLA and co-polymers at the company's Kumbhi site in Uttar Pradesh.

Why this mattersState-backed entry of an Indian sugar producer into bio-based PLA signals a new domestic feedstock route for biodegradable packaging polymers, a segment currently dominated by non-Indian suppliers.

• Grant of INR 750m (USD 7.8m) from BIRAC under India's Department of Biotechnology funds the project.
• Pilot facility has capacity of 100 tonnes per annum for PLA and co-polymers.
• Facility to be built at Balrampur Chini Mills' integrated manufacturing complex at Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Launch took place at the Department of Biotechnology in New Delhi on 24 September 2026.
• Project falls under India's BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment & Employment) government framework.
• Minister cited India's bioeconomy growth from about USD 10bn in 2014 to nearly USD 195bn.

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