India is making substantial progress in its Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, with notable increases in both ethanol production and blending rates.
According to sources, during the ongoing Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2024–25, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have received a total of 904.84 crore litres of ethanol from November to September.
Of this, 598.14 crore litres of ethanol have been sourced from grains, while sugar-based feedstocks have contributed 306.70 crore litres.
In a major achievement, India has reached a 20% ethanol blending level in petrol by 2025, surpassing its target by five years.
This rapid progress has significantly reduced India’s reliance on imported crude oil, resulting in substantial savings in foreign exchange.
Additionally, the Indian government has provided relief to ethanol producers by allowing sugar mills and distilleries to produce ethanol from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, B-heavy molasses (BHM), and C-heavy molasses (CHM) without any restrictions for the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025–26.
To ensure a balance between ethanol production and sugar availability for domestic consumption, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), will regularly review the diversion of sugar for ethanol production.
Recently, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) invited bids for the supply of around 1050 crore litres of Denatured Anhydrous Ethanol for cycle 1 of ESY 2025-26. The response exceeded the required quantity of 1050 crore liters with over 1776 crore liters of offers submitted by the manufacturers across the country.
Out of total offers for 1776.49 crore litres, 471.63 crore litres is offered from sugarcane based feedstocks and 1304.86 crore litres is offered from grain based feedstocks.
