Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that India will be able to achieve the goal of 20 per cent ethanol blend in petrol by 2025.

Shah made the announcement while speaking at an event organised at Haryana Cooperative Export House (HAFED) after inaugurating various projects of the Haryana Cooperative Department, including a Rs 150 crore ethanol project to establish plants in cooperative sugar mills aimed at producing 9,000 ltr ethanol per day. Addressing the gathering on occasion,

Shah said, “How the ethanol project being started by the Haryana government will enhance the income of cooperative sugar mills.”

Noting that ethanol helps in reducing the import of petroleum products in our country, Shah said that biofuels also protect the environment.

Taking potshots against United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the Centre, the Minister said, “Blending of ethanol in petrol and diesel was lower than one per cent when Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014. Today, we have crossed 10 per cent. By 2025, the Narendra Modi government will be able to achieve the goal of 20 per cent ethanol blend in petrol.”

The Minister further said that the waste food grains of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) will also be used with the help of ethanol and “There will be a huge reduction in the import bill of our country”.
All petrol sold in the country is targeted to have 20 per cent ethanol availability by 2025.

Shah’s announcement comes months after the Ministry of Petroleum in October last year moved up its deadline for blending 20 per cent ethanol into gasoline by five years, to 2025 when 1,000 core litre ethanol production capacity is not achieved to fulfil the desired 20 per cent ethanol blend in petrol.

In October last year, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said that 450 crore litre of ethanol is being produced and tenders for 400 crore litre have been issued and the government is constantly reviewing ethanol production.

Ethanol is one of the principal bio-fuels, which is naturally produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts or via petrochemical processes such as ethylene hydration.

Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) is aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on crude oil imports, cutting carbon emissions and boosting farmers’ incomes.

Ethanol blending in petrol in India has risen successively from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 5 per cent in 2019-20 to 8.10 per cent in 2020-21 and now to as much as 10.17 per cent.