On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) and highlighted progress towards achieving a 20 percent ethanol blending target in petrol.
At the inauguration ceremony held at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex in Delhi, PM Modi stated, “Our ethanol blending program is benefiting both agriculture and the environment. We are making rapid strides toward our 20 percent ethanol blending target in petrol.”
Reflecting on the last ICAE held in India 65 years ago, the Prime Minister noted that India was then a newly independent country facing challenges in food security and agriculture. Today, however, India is a food surplus nation, the largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices, and the second-largest producer of food grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugar, tea, and farmed fish. The Prime Minister remarked on how concerns about India’s food security have shifted to India now providing solutions for global food and nutrition security. He emphasized that India’s experience is crucial for discussions on food system transformation and will benefit the global south.
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, recently reported that ethanol production capacity has reached 1,589 crore litres per annum, sufficient to meet the country’s domestic ethanol needs.
As of June, ethanol blending with petrol has reached 15.90 percent, and cumulative ethanol blending from November 2023 to June 2024 stood at 13.0 percent. The government aims to achieve a 20 percent ethanol blending target by 2025. To meet this goal, approximately 1,016 crore litres of ethanol are needed, with a total requirement of 1,350 crore litres for all uses. Consequently, about 1,700 crore litres of ethanol production capacity must be established by 2025, assuming the plants operate at 80 percent efficiency.
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