Niti Aayog Urged to Boost Ethanol Blending Target to 25%

The Food Ministry has requested Niti Aayog to increase the ethanol blending target in petrol to 25% from the current 20%. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi emphasized the need for a comprehensive roadmap to achieve this goal. Measures to promote ethanol production have been highlighted, including the use of sugarcane derivatives and increased production capacity.

The Food Ministry has asked the government think tank Niti Aayog to enhance the ethanol blending target in petrol to 25% from the current 20%, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi announced on Thursday.

India, currently the world's third-largest ethanol producer, had initially aimed for 20% ethanol blending with petrol by 2030, later revising the target to 2025-26.

'We have requested Niti Aayog to further increase the target to 25% and formulate a roadmap,' Joshi stated at the 2nd India Sugar and Bio Energy Conference, organized by industry body ISMA.

The minister noted that ethanol blending has increased to 13.6% from 1.53% in the 2013-14 supply year due to collaborative efforts between the government and the industry. This has been facilitated by an expanded ethanol production capacity to 1,623 crore liters across about 250 distilleries.

Joshi also highlighted measures to promote ethanol production, including the use of sugarcane juice/syrup, B-heavy and C-heavy molasses for ethanol production for the 2024-25 supply year.

The government has additionally permitted the sale of 23 lakh tonnes of rice by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to grain-based ethanol distilleries.

Joshi mentioned that the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana, which supports the production of 2G and 3G ethanol, has been extended till 2028-29 to provide financial aid to advanced biofuel projects.

He also called for cooperation between Brazil and India, the world's leading sugar producers, in the production of biofuels like ethanol, biodiesel, and biojet fuel.

'Bioenergy is the future. Both the government and the industry must collaborate with innovation and responsibility to achieve sustainable growth for a developed India by 2047,' Joshi added.

(With inputs from agencies.)