Ethanol production in India has an advantage as its production could potentially leave sugar prices unaffected. Further, by blending petrol with 10 per cent bio-fuel, 80 million litres of petrol could be saved annually in the country.
Petrol doped with 20 per cent ethanol was rolled out on Monday at select petrol pumps in 11 states and union territories as part of a programme to increase use of biofuels to cut emissions as well as dependence on foreign exchange-draining imports. At present, 10 per cent ethanol is blended in petrol (10 per cent ethanol, 90 per cent petrol) and the government is looking to double this quantity by 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the higher 20 per cent ethanol blended petrol two months ahead of the planned rollout in April, at the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru.
The Cabinet is likely to decide on final price of ethanol for blending it with petrol within this month, Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah said on Monday.
'We are not asking for incentives, but at least taxation can be aligned such that the rupee tax on consumers remains the same.'
Oil marketing companies together would have to make investments of a few hundred crores of rupees to create the facilities that would enable them to blend ethanol in petrol.
The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for the mandatory supply of ethanol-blended petrol in nine major sugarcane-producing states and four union territories by three months to September 30, this year.
The sugar industry is gearing up to offer the entire quantity for the tenders, which will close on September 2.
Maharashtra, by this month end, would become only the second state after Uttar Pradesh to sell ethanol doped petrol at all retail outlets, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on Monday.
Amid the political push and pull, the Centre's decision to allow sugar exports and remove the 50 per cent duty on molasses exports has rekindled hope in the industry that more relief may follow.
The government on Monday raised the price of ethanol for blending with fuel at Rs 27 per litre from existing Rs 21.50 per litre.
'What the US appears to be doing is to force India to be "the buyer of last resort", on whom their products can be dumped, 1.4 billion people have to eat something, so why not eat American corn?' 'What is exercising the Trump lot is the fact that most of the farms are in solidly Republican Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Sugar prices are hovering near six-year highs, leaving a bad taste in Indian consumers' palates but sweetening the portfolios of investors in related stocks at Dalal Street. Shares of sugar manufacturers such as Piccadily Agro, DCM Shriram, Magadh Sugar, and Bajaj Hindustan have rallied up to a whopping 200 per cent so far in the financial year 2024 (FY24) as deficient monsoon rains in major sugarcane producer states like Maharashtra and Karnataka are expected to lead to a shortfall in sugar output ahead. In comparison, the BSE Sensex has modestly gained 11 per cent during this period.
The government has put off by one month the levy of an additional Rs 2 per litre excise duty on petrol and diesel that is not doped with ethanol and bio-diesel in a bid to give the industry more time to implement the measure.
Increasing sugar production shall create problems for the industry, whereas boosting ethanol output can bring rich returns, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari told sugar mills on Wednesday. Speaking at a conference on sugar and ethanol, organised by the Indian Sugar Mills Association, Gadkari surprised the audience comprising senior executives of sugar mills by stating that the future will become bleak for the industry if it continues to churn out high quantities of sugar. "We need more ethanol than sugar. Also, bio-ethanol is the way to go as it can be stored for a longer duration as compared to conventional ethanol. "If you increase sugar production, it will create more problems for you.
Ongoing strategic investment into assets abroad, alongside gas purchases being made by India, will soon allow the country to access as much gas as it needs, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on the sidelines of India Energy Week (IEW 2025).
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday unveiled the prototype of the world's first Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant electrified flex-fuel car, developed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor. The car, which runs on 100 per cent ethanol (E100), is based on the Toyota Innova HyCross. It can cover 40 per cent of its distance on ethanol and the remaining 60 per cent on electric, with the petrol engine shut off.
A deep split has emerged within India's auto industry over the proposed CAFE exemption for small cars, with only Maruti Suzuki and Renault backing the move in the final SIAM vote.
The prohibition has freed up as much as 60 million litres of ethanol
The last few years have been uncharacteristically good for the Indian sugar sector for a variety of reasons. While on the one hand, the weather supported good crop production; on the other hand, the programme to blend ethanol with petrol took off in a big way. The long-pending problem of burgeoning sugarcane arrears almost came down to nil and exports boomed to record highs.
Cooking oil is often discarded after being used for frying at home or in restaurants. However, a refinery of IndianOil has now won a certification to use the same oil to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the company chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said.
EV manufacturers point out that converting a regular petrol car into a flex-fuel vehicle requires only about Rs 17,000-25,000 per unit, whereas developing an EV demands vastly greater investments in research, battery development, and localisation.
India's plan to produce ethanol from second-generation (2G) sources -- mainly farm waste -- is taking time to materialise even as the government is set to dedicate to the nation on Wednesday a Rs 900-crore plant set up by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Panipat. Though state-run oil companies had decided to set up at least 12 plants in 2016-17 with an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore, this will be the first unit coming on track while others are stuck in various stages owing to issues like capital expenditure, lack of feedstock, and high rates of finished products compared to traditional ethanol units. According to industry sources, three more second-generation plants are coming up.
Maruti Suzuki, India's largest producer of small cars, stands to benefit the most.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
The move offers flexibility in compliance but also places penalties squarely on the designated manager of such a pool.
'We are very quickly going to announce the timeline of our launches, which should start giving us the turnaround'
The ethanol vehicles will have the flexibility to switch to other fuels
The government is reviewing the previous NDA regime's ambitious programme to run automobiles on ethanol-doped petrol, a project which was launched to cut the country's dependence on imported crude oil.
However, copious oil supplies amid growing global output and slowing Chinese oil consumption will put India in a better bargaining position with Gulf suppliers.
The government allowed sugar companies and distilleries to make hand sanitizers using ethanol. Sugar companies supply ethanol to oil marketing companies for blending with petrol.
New fuel to cost 15-20 paise less per litre
The Indian Sugar Mills' Association, the industry lobby group, will take the proposal to Food & Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar soon, sources close to the development said.
India on Saturday pulled off a big diplomatic win after the G20 summit adopted a consensus declaration overcoming major differences on the Russia-Ukraine war, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for ending "global trust deficit".
Attending a function where former Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari rolled out business plan of his Purti Group, NCP president and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said "there are no untouchables in politics".
S K Joshi, director (finance), BPCL, says that the Indian basket has fallen below $64 per barrel in September and he expects to receive oil bonds shortly.
India will raise its import duty on sugar to 40 percent from 15 percent, as the government tries to revive business at mills that owe farmers around $1.84 billion, the food minister said on Monday.
The introduction of 10 per cent mandatory blending of ethanol with petrol is unlikely to happen from this October, as decided by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in October 2007.
The stock of United Spirits, the country's largest liquor company by market capitalisation (mcap), has gained 11 per cent over the past week on double-digit growth guidance, rising premiumisation trend, operationally in-line performance in the March (Q4FY24) quarter and a rally in consumer stocks. The revenue growth of the company came in at 7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) mirroring the growth of the prestige and above (P&A) segment. This segment comprising premium brands accounts for 88 per cent of the revenues.
