Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: HBL
Context: Oil marketing companies (OMCs) receive 45% of contracted 514 crore litres of ethanol for the ethanol supply year (ESY) 2022-23 ending October. It will help them to increase blending to 11.65% against 10% during the same period a year ago.
Ethanol blending in India:
| Topic | Information |
| What is Ethanol blending? | Blending ethanol with petrol to burn less fossil fuel while running vehicles |
| National Policy on Biofuels 2018 Target | 20% ethanol blending under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme by 2025; the Current Ethanol Blending Ratio is 10%; the Current year target is 12%. |
| Significance | Less polluting fuel, lower cost, energy security, transitioning to a low carbon economy, enabling local enterprises and farmers to participate in the energy economy |
| Benefits of Ethanol Blending | Estimated $4 billion per annum saving with 20% ethanol blending; Reduction in the emission of CO2, CO, and HC, a lower share of oil imports, replacement of crude oil, boosting farmers’ income, minimizing air pollution |
| Challenges | Shift towards sugarcane production, storage constraint, food insecurity, instability of ethanol movement between states, no reduction in emission of nitrous oxide |
| Recent Government Initiatives | National Policy on Biofuels 2018, E100 Pilot project, Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana 2019, Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO); a pilot project for E20 fuel launched recently |
| Way Forward | Ensuring uniform availability of ethanol blends, promoting advanced biofuels, addressing challenges associated with ethanol blending |
