How ‘Balrampur Bioyug’ in Uttar Pradesh Is Rethinking What Sugarcane Can Do

This article is sponsored by Balrampur Chini Mills Limited. 

This story didn’t begin with a factory or a formula. It began with an impassioned question: What if the future of plastic didn’t come from oil but from something we’ve always grown with care? In the heart of Uttar Pradesh, that question took root—in the hands of a new leader, among fields of sugarcane, and within a legacy built not just on business, but belonging.

It wasn’t born in isolation. It grew from someone who had spent years watching sugarcane shape lives—not just as a crop, but as a culture, a livelihood, a lifeline.

What if your sugarcane juice came in a bottle made from… sugarcane?

That’s where Balrampur Bioyug comes in—a bold new answer to an old question. 

India's first PLA bioplastics brand, Balrampur Bioyug, was formally launched on 27th May in Mumbai by Hon'ble Maharashtra CM, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis. 

India’s first fully integrated PLA bioplastic plant, which will be commissioned in October 2026, will transform sugar derived from sugarcane into poly lactic acid, which is a bioplastic from crop to resin, all in one place, powered wholly by renewable energy. 

What if the answer to plastic pollution was growing in our fields all along?

On any given day in rural India, sugarcane is everywhere—stacked high on bullock carts, crushed at roadside juice stalls, and swaying in fields that stretch to the horizon. It's a crop that fuels more than thirst; it powers livelihoods, festivals, and local economies. But in an era where sustainability is no longer optional, sugarcane is beginning to tell a new story — one that goes beyond sweetness, into science, innovation, and circular solutions. What if this humble crop could also help solve one of India’s biggest environmental problems? 

India is the world’s second-largest producer of sugarcane, cultivating over 400 million tonnes annually across nearly 5 million hectares of farmland (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, 2023). For millions of farmers — especially in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka — sugarcane is more than just a cash crop. It is a vital source of income, tied closely to the rural economy, employment, and agrarian livelihoods. 

But sugarcane’s potential doesn’t end at jaggery, sugar, or juice. Each harvest also produces vast quantities of agricultural residue — bagasse, molasses, and press mud — that often go underutilised. In a country simultaneously battling mounting plastic pollution and looking for climate-resilient circular economy solutions, these byproducts offer an untapped opportunity. 

At the same time, India is grappling with a serious waste management challenge. The country generates over 5 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste each year, much of which remains non-recyclable and persistent in the environment (Source: UNEP, CPCB). As global and domestic regulations tighten around plastic use, the demand for viable, biodegradable alternatives is not only growing — it's essential. 

Against this backdrop, Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) — one of India’s largest integrated sugar producers — is rewriting the role of sugarcane in India’s sustainability journey. With the launch of the brand ‘Balrampur Bioyug’ on 27th May 2025, India’s first industrial-scale PLA (polylactic acid) biopolymer plant and powered by renewable energy, which will be commissioned in October 2026, BCML will be transforming sugar from sugarcane into fully compostable, bio-based plastic. 

This would be the best alternative to the banned single-use plastic items and other applications across industries like packaging, bio-medical, food service ware and more. Located in Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh, this initiative marks a critical step in aligning agriculture, industry, and sustainability at scale. 

“We haven’t just unveiled a brand — we launched a transformative movement. Bioyug, symbolising 'The Era of Bio-Circularity', marks a pivotal step in India’s transition to a bio-based, low-carbon economy,” shares Avantika Saraogi, Executive Director of Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) 

What began as a staple crop for the kitchen table will now be poised to become a building block for the packaging of the future — one that biodegrades naturally, reduces fossil-fuel dependence, and supports both climate goals and rural economies. 

How a grandmother’s legacy sparked a bio-revolution 

For Avantika, the idea didn’t begin in a boardroom or a strategy document. It started with a moment of loss — and a sense of responsibility that followed. 

“When my grandmother, fondly called ‘Madamji’, passed away, I took over the sugarcane side of the business after about 5 years  — something she used to handle. There was a vacuum, and our company has always been community-knit. We care about our people,” she shares. “It’s because of their blessings that we’ve been able to do everything we have.” 

Taking charge of a part of the company so closely linked to her grandmother wasn’t just about managing operations. It became a personal question: What more can we do with what we already have? Her grandmother had built one of India’s most successful sugar and ethanol enterprises through sheer dedication — staying close to the people, the land, and the work itself. Carrying that forward meant not simply continuing business as usual, but asking how that legacy could take on new meaning in a changing world. 

That question led Avantika to look more closely at sugarcane’s by-products — the parts of the crop often overlooked once the juice and sugar are extracted. One day, she came across a bottle made from sugarcane. It looked like regular plastic but had a quiet statement printed on it: “I’m made from plants.”

“It looked just like plastic, but it said, ‘I’m made from plants’, and it was all sugarcane. That’s when the idea took hold.” 

What started as a spark of curiosity soon became a possibility worth pursuing. If sugarcane could be used to make packaging that didn't pollute the earth, what would it take to bring that to India, at scale and from within? 

That question didn’t just stay with her. It began to grow inside the company. Slowly, it made its way into conversations, plans, and deeper research. “The only reason that the senior leadership team and the board said yes is that they couldn't say no anymore,” Avantika says. “Literally every question had a very good answer and a perfect business case.”  

“‘Bio’ reflects our commitment to sustainable, plant-based materials like PLA and our integration with India’s agri-value chain, especially sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh. ‘Yug’, from Sanskrit, signifies a new era built on ecological responsibility and circularity,” explains Avantika. 

Today, that seed of an idea has taken shape as the launch of the brand Balrampur Bioyug, India’s first industrial-scale PLA (polylactic acid) biopolymer plant, which will be converting sugar into a plastic alternative designed to return to the earth. But its real origin lies in something far simpler and more enduring: a woman at the helm asking what more was possible with what her family had built and how it could mean more for the people they serve and the world they share. 

“The core philosophy of  ‘more from less’ was deeply reinforced by my father, Mr. Vivek Saraogi, whose leadership has driven the digital transformation of our operations and guided the company's strategic diversification into the distillery and cogen segments,” shares Avantika.

From crop to compostable: India’s first end-to-end PLA plant powered by agriculture 

Unlike other PLA plants, BCML’s facility will be fully integrated. “Once functioning, this will be the first plant globally to go from sugarcane to PLA in one location,” says Avantika. “And it will also be the first PLA plant powered completely by renewable energy, either from bagasse or other agricultural waste.” 

It’s a big bet. But BCML isn’t new to pioneering. With ten sugar units, five distilleries, and one of India’s most robust ethanol production networks, the company has always moved with foresight. The addition of bioplastics is a natural next step.  

“This was inevitable,” Avantika adds. “Sugarcane-based industry is sort of like an oil rig. Until now, only the oil industry has made plastic. Now, sugarcane-based industries can too,” she shares, creating new paths for other sugar producers as well. 

How sugarcane becomes plastic 

Turning sugarcane into plastic may sound like science fiction, but it’s science — and a remarkably efficient one. With the right processes and the right intent, one of India’s most traditional crops can become the foundation of a sustainable material revolution. 

“It’s very simple,” says Stefan Barot, President of the Chemical Division at Balrampur Chini Mills. “We start with sugar — a natural, fairly well-defined raw material. It’s not pure like chemicals, of course; it has some impurities. But nature has already done half the work.” 

So how exactly does sugar become something that looks and acts like plastic? 

Let’s break it down step by step: 

• Fermentation: The sugar, taken from sugarcane juice, is fermented, like how you make curd or wine. This process produces lactic acid. If that sounds familiar, it’s because your body makes lactic acid when your muscles are tired, and it’s also found in compost heaps. In other words, it’s natural and already part of our everyday lives.
• Purification: Next, this lactic acid is cleaned up. It goes through a purification process that removes impurities, but importantly, this is done without using any harsh or harmful chemicals. It’s a clean process that keeps the material safe and sustainable.
• Dimerisation: Water is removed from the lactic acid to make something called a dimer. You can think of this as getting the molecules to link together, like prepping puzzle pieces so they snap into place.
• Polymerisation: In the final step, these dimers are connected into long chains, forming what’s called PLA resin. This material can be shaped into bottles, containers, utensils, and other packaging products—things we typically use plastic for.

The big difference? PLA doesn’t stick around forever.

Unlike traditional plastic, which can last hundreds of years, PLA is designed to break down. In industrial composting facilities, where there’s heat, moisture, and the right microbes, it decomposes quickly and turns back into compost. 

“Under these conditions, PLA goes away in just 180 days. In reality, it normally goes away in a couple of weeks,” adds Stefan. 

And as India moves away from single-use plastics, materials like PLA don’t just tick the sustainability box — they offer a real, working alternative that can be scaled and used now. 

 But why sugarcane? 

According to Stefan, it comes down to efficiency and yield. “Sugarcane gives you a denser, more efficient yield. You get about 11–12% of sugar out of sugarcane. Corn just doesn’t compare in terms of how much sugar you can extract per square metre of land.” 

There’s only one crop with a better sugar yield: sugar beet, which grows seasonally and doesn’t flourish in Indian conditions. 

That makes sugarcane the ideal raw material for India’s bioplastic revolution. It’s abundant, renewable, and already deeply embedded in our agricultural landscape. Plus, it grows year-round, supports millions of farmers, and now, thanks to BCML, can even power a shift towards a circular, bio-based economy. 

Because renewables power the plant, BCML’s PLA, once it's up and running, could achieve up to 80% lower carbon footprint than traditional plastics like PET.  “This will be bio-based plastic made by bio-based energy. Everything comes from the earth and goes back to the earth,” says Avantika. 

Farmers at the heart of the story 

What sets Balrampur Bioyug apart isn’t just its technology — it’s the people behind it. For the 5.5 lakh farmers associated with BCML, it goes beyond another industrial facility; it's a symbol of shared purpose, where agriculture meets global innovation. It puts farmers not at the periphery of progress, but at its very centre. 

“Our farmers know it’s their plant. Without their sugarcane, this facility is just metal,” says Avantika. “When we spoke to them about bioplastics, they didn’t know much about plastic or composting. But now, they’re proud to say that they will grow for a bioplastic plant.” 

That pride is being transformed into a tangible impact. The plant has already created 250 direct jobs, with another 2,000 expected through a planned bioplastics cluster. However, the change runs deeper, supporting rural infrastructure, education, and healthcare, driven by a model that sees value not just in output but also in ownership. 

“Before Balrampur became a factory town, it was just jungle. Now there are CBSE schools, doctors, and engineers. This is what happens when industry is rooted in purpose,” Avantika shares. 

Circularity needs more than innovation 

Yet even the most advanced material means little without the systems to support its life cycle. True circularity isn’t just about what we produce — it’s about what we do with it when we’re done. 

“Circularity can’t be established by better production alone,” Stefan points out. “We need waste segregation at the household level. Every material can be processed, but only if it’s sorted.” 

India’s new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules offer a framework, but the real work lies in building awareness and infrastructure. While that may sound like a complex challenge, the solution is surprisingly simple. 

“It’s not complicated, just dry and wet waste,” Stefan says. “Our parents and grandparents knew this. We’ve simply forgotten in our rush to modernity.” 

Rather than wait for the system to catch up, BCML is co-creating the solution. The company is partnering with governments to run model projects in composting and chemical recycling, showing that circular systems can be implemented not just in controlled labs or global capitals, but in the heart of rural India. 

“The launch of the brand Balrampur Bioyug, where the plant is set to be commissioned by October 2026, not only marks a decisive leap in sustainable manufacturing but also signals a significant shift in how India approaches material innovation for a circular, cleaner, greener future,” adds Stefan. 

This is a story about innovation and alignment between farmer and factory, product and planet, and industry and intention. 

Can India become the world’s biochemical hub? Absolutely. 

India has something the world desperately needs: biomass and intent. 

“We’re a biomass-rich country,” says Avantika. “We already have the raw material in abundance. We could even become the bioplastic and biochemical hub of the world.” 

Stefan adds, “A lot of China’s chemical industry is coal-based. India has the biomass and a chance to leapfrog. If we don’t reduce our environmental footprint, we won’t survive. Nature will carry on — but we won’t.” 

He pauses. “Did you know that if the South Pole melts completely, the sea level could rise by 60 metres? That would wipe out most of the Earth’s fertile land.” It’s this urgency and opportunity that drives BCML’s mission. “To help make this bio-revolution happen… that’s what excites me,” he says. 

The future of plastics via Balrampur Bioyug 

Looking ahead, Avantika envisions a future where BCML harnesses the full potential of PLA once the plant starts functioning by the end of 2026. “In five years, I want to maximise the potential of PLA. Of course, we can do more,” she says, adding that while the ambition is clear, it will require collective movement across industry and government.  

Her broader goal includes exploring other biomaterials and green chemicals, with a focus on long-term value addition. For Avantika, sustainability isn’t a strategy, it’s the default.  

“Everything we do is inherently sustainable because it’s rooted in agriculture. From reducing water usage to cutting chemical inputs, we believe in doing more with less — because it’s good for both the planet and the business.” 

BCML is already collaborating across sectors, testing seven to eight different PLA applications and working closely with industries to ensure adoption. “Net Zero 2070 won’t happen on its own,” she adds. “This is a group effort. And we’re doing our part.” 

“Once fully operational, the Bioyug plant will produce 80,000 tonnes of PLA annually — potentially replacing over millions of plastic bottles or packaging units each year,” says Stefan, sharing a glimpse of a powerful revolution in combating plastic waste in the future.  

Want to learn more about India’s bio-based future? Visit www.chini.com or follow BCML or Balrampur Bioyug on LinkedIn to stay updated about the plant’s progress and manufacturing. Because the future doesn’t just grow in labs. Sometimes, it grows in cane fields and changes everything. 

Edited by Leila Badyari Castelino; All images courtesy Balrampur Chini Mills Limited.