India now has adequate grain-based ethanol capacity, along with overall production, to achieve and sustain the 20% ethanol blending target 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 to procure approximately 1,050 crore litres of ethanol for blending in petrol. Against this, eligible offers totalled 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.
