India’s ethanol blending programme has emerged as a global clean energy success, reaching nearly 20% ethanol-petrol blending—well ahead of its 2025 target. This significant achievement was the centerpiece of a high-level roundtable held on Wednesday, where government officials, industry leaders, and policy experts gathered to discuss the future of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.
The event also saw the release of the ‘Thought Leadership Report’, a strategic roadmap that highlights ethanol’s essential role in enhancing energy security, supporting rural development, and advancing climate goals. The report stresses the need for stronger policy support, increased collaboration among stakeholders, and greater investments in technology to expand ethanol production, particularly from grain-based sources such as maize and surplus rice.
India has rapidly scaled its ethanol blending efforts, increasing from over 10% in 2022 to 19.7% in February 2025.
The report also addressed myths around India’s food security, showing it is a grain surplus country which can cater to the needs of food and ethanol production without causing scarcity. Every year, India has a surplus of around 165 lakh metric tonnes of grain that could be used for ethanol.
The Thought Leadership Report identifies grain-based ethanol, particularly from maize and surplus grains like broken rice, as a key lever for sustainable expansion. It emphasizes the environmental and economic advantages of maize—India’s least water-intensive feedstock with strong ethanol conversion efficiency. The report projects that 165 lakh metric tonnes of surplus grain could be utilized annually to generate over Rs. 35,000 crores in direct payments to farmers, reinforcing rural prosperity and arresting urban migration.
However, the report also highlighted challenges such as rising maize prices, stagnant ethanol procurement rates, and declining margins from by-products like DDGS. It recommends dynamic pricing for grain ethanol, scaling up maize cultivation, ensuring a steady supply of surplus rice from the Food Corporation of India (FCI), and strengthening market linkages for ethanol co-products.
The roundtable, organized by Primus Partners in collaboration with the Grain Ethanol Manufacturers Association (GEMA) and the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE), featured insights from senior government officials and industry experts, who shared strategies to foster the sector’s sustainable growth.
“We understand the current challenges of India’s grain ethanol story industry. There is a roadmap being planned; it will address multiple issues – feedstock availability and supply of broken and surplus rice from FCI, scope for E100/E93/E85, possibility of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), etc. We need to work together on this,” said Ashwini Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution.
Abhinav Singal, Treasurer of the Grain Ethanol Manufacturers Association (GEMA), added, “Ethanol Blending program (EBP)” is a great step forward by the GOI to ensure India’s future energy security, rural development, increasing farmer’s income manifold and reducing carbon footprint in the environment. In the last two years, Grain Ethanol Industry has grown & become the largest contributor to the EBP of India. Still, India being a Grain surplus country- the Grain Ethanol Industry requires timely support from Government of India with right policy initiatives & direction to grow and thrive in the future.”
“India’s ethanol success is a result of bold policy decisions and collaborative industry efforts. The grain-based ethanol industry, in particular, holds immense potential to drive rural economic development, enhance farmer incomes, and ensure year-round ethanol production. It must be actively promoted through supportive policies, assured feedstock supply, and fair pricing mechanisms. This roundtable is a step toward building consensus among stakeholders and crafting actionable strategies that will ensure long-term sustainability and growth of the ethanol sector. IFGE remains committed to enabling a robust and future-ready ethanol ecosystem that supports India’s clean energy transition and national energy security,” said Sanjay Ganjoo, Director General of IFGE (Indian Federation of Green Energy).
