The government is likely to revise the reserve price for the sale of rice to ethanol distilleries under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic), known as OMSS(D), aimed at ethanol production, reported industry’s leading portal ChiniMandi.
Under the current OMSS(D) Policy for 2024–25, rice is being sold to ethanol producers at a reserve price of Rs 2,250 per quintal across India. This rate applies to a maximum quantity of 52 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) and remains in effect until October 31, 2025.
At a recent meeting, the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) recommended increasing the reserve price to Rs 2,320 per quintal, maintaining the existing quantity cap of 52 LMT. The revised price is set to come into force from November 1, 2025, while the present rate will continue until the end of October.
The tender process for ethanol procurement for the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025–26 is expected to commence around August or September this year.
The committee also recommended prioritizing the use of old or broken rice, where feasible, for ethanol production.
During the current ESY 2024–25, ethanol blending with petrol reached 19.8% in May. The average blending rate from November 2024 to May 2025 stood at 18.8%. According to official figures, 95.1 crore liters of ethanol were blended in May alone, taking the total to 572.1 crore liters over the seven-month period.
