New Delhi
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said India should prepare to export ethanol, given its surplus production. He noted that the country has already achieved its 20 percent ethanol blending target with petrol and must now focus on boosting exports.
Speaking at the 2nd International Conference and Exhibition on Bioenergy and Technologies, Gadkari highlighted India’s progress. Ethanol production capacity reached 1,822 crore liters annually by June 2025. The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme pushed average blending to 19.05 percent in 2024-25, driven by both sugarcane-based molasses and grain feedstocks.
He credited ethanol policies with increasing farmer incomes by ₹45,000 crore annually. “Diversifying agriculture towards energy is the need of the hour,” he said, pointing to successful models like corn-based ethanol in Brazil.
The minister also spoke of innovations such as converting rice straw into ethanol and bio-CNG. With 500 plants under development, he said stubble would soon become an energy source instead of a pollution problem. Other projects include ethanol-powered generators, bio-bitumen roads, and flex-fuel vehicles from major automakers like Toyota, Tata, Mahindra, Suzuki, and Hyundai. Tractor and equipment makers are also adopting biofuels and hydrogen.
Gadkari emphasised the potential of green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel, citing pilot projects already underway. He underlined that nearly 40 percent of India’s air pollution comes from transport fuels, while fossil fuel imports cost ₹22 lakh crore annually.
“Biofuels are not just about environment, but also about economic change for rural India,” he said, stressing their role in jobs, cleaner air, farmer welfare, and self-reliance.