A worker removing weeds from a maize field near Kanchikacherla in NTR district in 2024.
| Photo Credit: RAO G.N.

The story so far: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that India will achieve its target of 20% ethanol blending of petrol in the next two months, at least a year ahead of what was originally planned. This would entail the production of nearly 1,100 crore litres of fuel ethanol in one year.

Where will this come from?

The 1,100 crore litres of fuel ethanol will come from sugar and high grade molasses, Food Corporation of India (FCI) rice, broken rice, and maize. India’s ethanol distillery capacity has ramped up to 1,600 crore litres, driven by a range of government incentives and the promise of a stable, lucrative market.

Also read: Understanding ethanol blending 

Sugar is expected to provide some 400 crore litres this ethanol year, according to Deepak Ballani, director general of Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association. India had closing sugar stocks of around 80 lakh tonnes in October 2024. The projected sugar production for next year is around 315 lakh tonnes out of which 40 lakh tonnes will go to fuel ethanol. Mr. Ballani said that ethanol for non-fuel uses will come from low grade molasses called C Heavy that don’t go into sugar production.

The government recently decided to reduce the price of FCI rice to distilleries from ₹28 to ₹22.5 per kg. The government handout states that some 110 crore litres of ethanol will be produced from FCI rice this ethanol year. This means almost 400 crore litres of fuel ethanol should come from maize. For context, India was producing little or no ethanol from maize until 2020. Besides pure-play grain-based distilleries coming up, some sugar distilleries have modified to dual-feed so in the off-season they can use other feedstock (maize) to produce ethanol.

How is maize playing a role?

India’s maize production is just about enough for traditional needs such as for the poultry sector, livestock feed, starch production and some 10% for human consumption. As the government had imposed curbs on allowing sugar and high quality molasses for ethanol production, maize imports started ramping up in April 2024. From April to June, approx. ₹100 crore worth of maize was imported while, for 2023-24, maize imports were approx. $33 million. Ministry of Commerce figures show that a total of $188 million worth of maize was imported from April to November 2024.

The promise of a steady, lucrative ethanol market has meanwhile goaded many farmers to take to maize cultivation across India. The major maize producing States are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. For the 2024-25 ethanol year, maize output would be some 42 million tonnes out of which nine million can go towards producing the 350 to 400 crore litres of ethanol, H. S. Jat, director ICAR Indian Institute of Maize Research, Ludhiana, said. Citing good prospects for kharif this year, he said importing maize will not be necessary.

Since 2020-21. when ethanol production was almost all sugar-based, maize production had increased by nearly six million tonnes in three years, for potential ethanol use.

As things stand now, maize is cultivated in 10% more area at a higher yield, says Mr. Jat who also expects some diversion from traditional maize uses since supplying to ethanol is more lucrative for farmers. On whether that won’t disrupt the market, Mr. Jat says DDGS (Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles), a byproduct of ethanol, can be used for poultry. The long-term sustainability of fuel ethanol would depend on whether the switch to ethanol and stress on maize has a negative impact on production of other foodgrains. Mr. Jat estimates that 100 crore litres of fuel ethanol translates to ₹6,000 crore savings on oil imports and the money going into the internal economy including to farmers. For context, India’s yearly oil import bill is some ₹10.5 lakh crore.

New Delhi:

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today sent a legal notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Jairam Ramesh for sharing a “twisted, distorted” version of one of his interviews on X.

Mr Gadkari said that the Congress posted the 19-second audio and visual clipping by “concealing the contextual intent and meaning” of his interview. He claimed the “sinister act” had been done with the sole intent to “fan and create confusion, sensation and disrepute” to him.

The 66-year-old has asked the Congress to delete the post “within 24 hours of receipt of this legal notice” and also demanded a written apology within three days.

Calling the video clip factually incorrect, he said that it was an “intentional attempt” by the Congress leaders to “insult and demean” him, “coupled with your intent to provoke members of Bhartiya Janata Party to develop ideological rift”. He claimed that the clip has resulted in “big reputation damage, defamation and great loss of credibility”.

“The interview has also been twisted, distorted and presented on your microblogging site ‘X’ wall by uploading the above video which is bereft and devoid of contextual meaning,” read the notice.

In the video shared on X by the Congress, Mr Gadkari can be heard saying, “Villages, poor, labourers and farmers are unhappy…The villages do not have good roads, there is no water to drink, there are no good hospitals, there are no good schools”.

The Cabinet Minister of Road Transport and Highways said that the Congress clipped the parts where he highlighted how much efforts were being made and the same is also giving good outcomes in the tenure of the present Union Government.

“(They) deliberately posted the Hindi captions and video by concealing the contextual meaning of the interaction which is deliberate and malicious to malign the reputation (of the minister),” he said.

The Congress is yet to respond to the notice.