{"id":82299,"date":"2026-08-22T17:38:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=82299"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:40:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:10:38","slug":"sugar-prices-ethanol-blending-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-08-2026\/sugar-prices-ethanol-blending-policy","title":{"rendered":"Rising Sugar Prices Amid Ethanol Blending Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The diversion of sugarcane and foodgrains towards ethanol production has raised concerns over rising sugar and food prices, highlighting the trade-off between\u00a0 energy security and food security under India\u2019s ethanol-blending programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Ethanol?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ethanol is <strong>99.9%<\/strong> pure alcohol that can be blended with petrol. It can be produced from <strong>sugarcane, maize, wheat, etc <\/strong>which are having high starch content.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alcohol production involves<strong> fermentation of sugar<\/strong> using yeast. In cane juice or molasses, sugar is present in the form of <strong>sucrose <\/strong>that is <strong>broken down into glucose and fructose.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ethanol Blending Programme<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ethanol blending refers to the <strong>practice of mixing ethanol with gasoline <\/strong>to create a fuel mixture that can be used in internal combustion engines.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>\u2018National Policy on Biofuels\u2019 <\/strong>notified by the government in 2018 envisaged an indicative target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2030.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In 2014 only 1.5 per cent<\/strong> ethanol was blended in petrol in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Given the encouraging performance and various interventions made by the government <strong>the 20% target was achieved in 2025.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The programme has reportedly saved approximately<strong> \u20b91.13 lakh crore in foreign exchange <\/strong>and reduced nearly<strong> 544 lakh metric tonnes of CO\u2082 <\/strong>emissions cumulatively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In June 2026, the government introduced <strong>E85 for flex-fuel vehicles<\/strong>; E100 is expected to be offered in the near future too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why is India Promoting Higher Ethanol Blends?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Improving energy security<\/strong>: India imports almost 88.5% of its entire crude oil requirement.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increasing the mixing of ethanol reduces reliance on imported oil and boosts energy resiliency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It will also help to check outflow of foreign exchange and improve macro-economic stability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Farmers help<\/strong>: Production of ethanol provides alternative market for sugarcane, maize and surplus food grains and hence, provides economic help to farmers notably in areas like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Benefits : <\/strong>Ethanol is a renewable fuel and it creates fewer toxins than petrol. By combining higher we may reduce pollutants and make transit cleaner.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rural Industrialisation:<\/strong> The expansion of distilleries has contributed to the development of rural infrastructure and the generation of non-farm employment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Global Biofuel Leadership: <\/strong>\u00a0India is a founding member of the Global Biofuel Alliance launched at the G20 Summit.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This program consolidates India&#8217;s status as a global leader in sustainable biofuels further.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns Regarding Ethanol Blending<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Feedstock Volatility<\/strong>: Sugarcane production remains heavily monsoon dependent. Ethanol supply and blending targets are disrupted in drought years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Effect on food prices:<\/strong> Increased diversion of agricultural production results in increased costs of sugar and other food products.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mileage : <\/strong>Ethanol has less energy per litre than gasoline. Customers raised issues regarding the decline in mileage from E10 to E20 transition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vehicle Compatibility Problems<\/strong> : Ethanol is extremely hygroscopic i.e. it readily absorbs moisture from the atmosphere.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Higher ethanol blends can damage engine components, fuel lines, rubber seals and metal parts in cars that are not meant to use such fuel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Response<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government has approved duty-free import of 10 lakh tonnes of raw sugar under a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) till 31 October to boost local availability and check prices as domestic sugar prices are rising.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All these techniques point to the need for flexible policy coordination between ethanol purchases, sugar production, imports and food-price management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Second-generation ethanol shift<\/strong> to agricultural waste, crop waste and other non-food feedstock, to avoid competing with food crops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Policy flexibility::<\/strong>\u00a0 Ethanol blending targets should be flexible to food costs, availability of sugar, supply of feedstock, and environmental sustainability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increase water use efficiency:<\/strong> Promote water-efficient sugarcane production by micro-irrigation and improved cropping practices, particularly in water-stressed regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/th\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nContext<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>The diversion of sugarcane and foodgrains towards ethanol production has raised concerns over rising sugar and food prices, highlighting the trade-off between\u00a0 energy security and food security under India\u2019s ethanol-blending programme.\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nWhat is Ethanol?<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\nEthanol is 99.9% pure alcohol that can be blended with petrol. It can be produced from sugarcane, maize, wheat, etc which are having high starch content.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Alcohol production involves fermentation of sugar using yeast. In cane juice or molasses, sugar is present in the form of sucrose that is broken down into glucose and fructose.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-08-2026\/sugar-prices-ethanol-blending-policy \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82299"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82301,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82299\/revisions\/82301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}