On June 5, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the advancing of the target year for 20% ethanol-blending in petrol by to 2025
India has drawn up plans to divert more maize to make ethanol for the country’s fuel-blending programme and ramp up output nearly 10 times in five years, three officials said on Monday.
The Union government has also signed off on a scheme to procure maize at federally fixed minimum support prices (MSP) and supply it to distilleries, as part of a strategy to meet India’s biofuels needs.
Maize, or corn, the third most-grown cereal, has emerged as a strategically important commercial crop in the country because of its use in making ethanol, which is blended with petrol. It is also an important poultry feed.
The country aims to lessen the use of sugarcane-based ethanol over the years and utilise more maize grown in a sustainable way for which the Union government has approved new research projects worth ₹24.51 crore, according to documents seen by HT.
Mixing of petrol with ethanol, which is made from molasses, a byproduct of sugar, is a high-priority national programme to help lessen the amount of oil India imports. Ethanol can also be produced from rice and maize. On June 5, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the advancing of the target year for 20% ethanol-blending in petrol by to 2025.
