The rapid expansion of grain-based ethanol capacity, along with the country’s overall ethanol production, is sufficient to achieve and sustain the target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said on Thursday.
In a written response in the Lok Sabha, the minister stated that, as per the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25 prepared by the Inter-Ministerial Committee led by NITI Aayog, the ethanol requirement for 20% blending in ESY 2025-26 was estimated at about 1,016 crore litres, of which around 466 crore litres was projected to come from non-sugar sources.
For the ongoing ESY 2025-26, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) floated tenders for the procurement of approximately 1,050 crore litres of ethanol for blending in petrol. Against this, eligible offers aggregated to 1,759 crore litres, indicating a substantial surplus.
Out of the total ethanol allocated so far by OMCs, about 760 crore litres have been sourced from non-sugar-based feedstock, he said.
However, the actual offers from non-sugar-based ethanol producers have been significantly higher than the projections made in the roadmap, he added.
