'Working to prevent disruption of ethanol supplies for gasoline blending'

India is working to ensure supplies of ethanol for blending with gasoline are not disrupted, government officials said on Friday, a day after curbs were placed on ethanol production from cane juice to boost sugar supplies.

The government will now rely on maize for ethanol production to meet gasoline blending goals, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra told a media briefing, adding that schemes are being worked out to boost production of maize.

India's goal of raising ethanol blending in petrol to 20% from 2025/26 remains intact, Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain said.

Patchy rains in the western state of Maharashtra and southern state of Karnataka have raised concerns about this year's sugar output, resulting in the government's directive to sugar mills.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, and is encouraging industries to switch to cleaner options including the mixing of biogas with natural gas, the use of bio diesel, and producing ethanol from grain and farm waste.

Indian state-run oil firms have announced plans for 12 plants in several states to produce ethanol using farm waste.

 

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Edwina Gibbs)