New Delhi. Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said the Food Ministry has requested government research institute Niti Aayog to increase the ethanol blending target for petrol from the current 20 per cent to 25 per cent and develop a comprehensive framework (roadmap).
India, the world’s third-largest ethanol producer and consumer, initially set a target of 20 per cent ethanol blending with petrol by 2030 under its Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, which was later revised to 2025-26.
Joshi, while addressing the second India Sugar and Bio Energy Conference organised by industry body ISMA here, said, “We have written to Niti Aayog to further increase it to 25 per cent and develop a framework.” The minister said that ethanol blending supply has increased from 1.53 per cent in the year 2013-14 to 13.6 per cent, thanks to the joint efforts of the government and the industry. This increase has been supported by increasing ethanol production capacity to 1,623 crore liters in about 250 distilleries.
Joshi highlighted the steps taken to boost ethanol production, including allowing the use of sugarcane juice and syrup, B-heavy and C-heavy molasses for ethanol production in the supply year 2024-25.
The government has also allowed the sale of 23 lakh tonnes of rice by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to grain-based ethanol distilleries. Joshi said that the Pradhan Mantri G-One Yojana has been amended with the aim of encouraging the production of 2-G and 3-G ethanol and it has been extended till the year 2028-29 to provide financial assistance to advanced biofuel projects.
He called for cooperation between the world’s top two sugar producing countries, Brazil and India, in the production of biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and biojet fuel. Joshi said, “Bioenergy is the future. The government and industry will have to work together with innovation, cooperation and responsibility to achieve sustainable development for a developed India by the year 2047.”