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The government has signalled that India's ethanol blending programme is being planned beyond the current 20 per cent blending target, saying the country's ethanol production capacity has been created not only to sustain E20 petrol but also to support higher ethanol blends, flex-fuel vehicles and other future biofuel applications.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said the country's ethanol production capacity has reached about 2,000 crore litres per year and has been developed keeping future requirements in mind. "The ethanol production capacity created in the country has been planned not only to meet the current requirement for E20 blending but also to cater to future growth in petrol demand, provide operational flexibility during seasonal variations in feedstock availability and support higher ethanol blends, flex-fuel vehicles and other emerging biofuel applications, as and when approved by the Government," the Minister said. The clarification comes as the government explained why India's installed ethanol production capacity is significantly higher than the annual requirement for achieving 20 per cent ethanol blending. The Minister said India has achieved 20 per cent ethanol blending during the ongoing Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26, five years ahead of the original 2030 target. Ethanol blending has risen from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 20 per cent during the current supply year, following a series of policy measures including administered ethanol pricing, expansion of approved feedstocks, GST reduction on ethanol for blending, interest subvention, long-term offtake agreements by oil marketing companies and expansion of storage infrastructure. Addressing concerns over diversion of food crops for ethanol production, the government said it follows a diversified feedstock strategy under the National Policy on Biofuels. Ethanol is produced from multiple approved feedstocks including sugarcane-based raw materials, maize, damaged foodgrains, broken rice, surplus foodgrains approved by the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) and other approved agricultural feedstocks. The government also said it is promoting second-generation (2G) ethanol from agricultural residues under the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana to gradually increase the use of non-food feedstocks. On food security, the Minister said, "Food security, Public Distribution System (PDS) requirements, National Food Security Act (NFSA) obligations, Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) and prescribed buffer stocks are accorded the highest priority. Only surplus foodgrains, after meeting these requirements, are permitted for ethanol production." The government added that it is promoting crop diversification towards comparatively less water-intensive feedstocks such as maize to ensure expansion of ethanol feedstocks remains balanced with the production of pulses, oilseeds and other essential food crops. (ANI)
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