Energy transition · Biofuels

Biofuels & Ethanol

India's ethanol blending programme mixes ethanol from sugarcane and grain into petrol. Official data show the E20 target, a 20% blend, was reached in Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26, five years ahead of the original 2030 timeline. This page sets out the targets, the data, the feedstocks and the trade-offs.

ESY 2025-26 blending20.0% (Nov 2025 – Aug 2026)

PolicyNational Policy on Biofuels 2018, amended 2022

Status sourcePPAC; PIB, 5 July 2026

Target and status

E20: target year, source, current status

The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 set a target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2030. A 2022 amendment brought the target forward to Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26. An ESY runs from 1 November to 31 October.

PPAC reports average blending of 20.0% for ESY 2025-26 to August 2026. The ministry stated in July 2026 that 20% had been reached in 2025-26. The supply year is not yet over, so the full-year figure is still provisional.

Sources: PIB, 10 Jul 2026 · PIB, 5 Jul 2026 · PPAC Snapshot, Aug 2026

ESY 2023-2414.6%

PPACTarget 20%

ESY 2024-2519.2%

PPAC · PIB gives 19.24%Target 20%

ESY 2025-26 (to Aug 2026)20%

PPAC · provisionalTarget 20%

The copper marker shows the E20 target. The scale runs to 25%. Source: PPAC Snapshot, Aug 2026.

Volumes

How much ethanol is blended

Ethanol procured / blended

Crore litres by Ethanol Supply Year

View as table

Period	Crore litres
2013-14	38
2023-24	707.4
2024-25	1,022.4
2025-26*	938.2

Sources: 2013-14 procurement from PIB, 5 Jul 2026. Volumes blended for 2023-24 to 2025-26 from PPAC Snapshot, Aug 2026. *2025-26 covers November 2025 to August 2026 only. The ministry projects more than 1,200 crore litres for the full year.

~2,000crore LEthanol production capacity2026 · PIB, 5 Jul 2026

₹1.90lakh cr+Foreign exchange saved, ESY 2014-15 to May 2026 (ministry estimate)PIB, 5 Jul 2026

310lakh t+Crude oil substituted, ESY 2014-15 to May 2026 (ministry estimate)PIB, 5 Jul 2026

~930lakh tCO₂ emissions reduction (ministry estimate)PIB, 5 Jul 2026

The cumulative savings and emissions figures are ministry estimates published in a press release. The method used to calculate them is not given in the release.

Feedstocks

Where the ethanol comes from

India allows several feedstocks for fuel ethanol. The Government sets a separate procurement price for each.

Feedstock	Type	Procurement price (₹/litre)	Notes
Maize	Grain (1G)	71.86	A growing share of supply in recent years
Sugarcane juice / syrup	Sugar route (1G)	65.61	Uses cane that would otherwise go to sugar
FCI rice	Grain (1G)	60.32	Surplus rice from the Food Corporation of India
B-heavy and C-heavy molasses	By-product of sugar (1G)	Set separately	Price not reproduced here
Damaged food grains	Grain (1G)	Set separately	Grain unfit for human consumption
Agricultural residue (e.g. rice straw)	Second generation (2G)	—	Supported under the PM JI-VAN Yojana

Procurement prices from PIB, 10 July 2026. Official releases reviewed for this page did not give the feedstock-wise share of supply for ESY 2025-26. Trade-press estimates exist but are not reproduced here.

Compressed biogas

SATAT and the CBG blending obligation

Compressed biogas (CBG) is made from agricultural residue, cattle dung, municipal waste and press mud. It can replace CNG in vehicles and piped gas in homes.

192CBG plants commissioned and selling01.09.2026 · PPAC

615Retail outlets selling CBG01.09.2026 · PPAC

42.7 → 96.5TMTCBG sales, FY 2024-25 → FY 2025-26PPAC

73.3TMTCBG sales, Apr–Aug 2026PPAC

CBG blending obligation (CBO) in CNG (transport) and domestic PNG
Financial year	Obligation	Status
Up to FY 2024-25	Voluntary	—
FY 2025-26	1%	Mandatory
FY 2026-27	3%	Mandatory
FY 2027-28	4%	Mandatory
FY 2028-29 onward	5%	Mandatory

Source: PIB, November 2023. The announcement set a goal of about 750 plants and ₹37,500 crore of investment. Official data on whether the FY 2025-26 obligation was met were not found.

Policy lens

Ethanol blending, examined

Ethanol Blended Petrol programme

Biofuels

Policy objective

Cut crude imports, support farm incomes and reduce emissions by blending domestically produced ethanol into petrol.

Implementation

Oil marketing companies buy ethanol at Government-set prices for each feedstock. Distillery capacity has grown with interest-subvention schemes. The 2022 amendment to the biofuels policy allowed more feedstocks. E20 petrol was launched at 84 retail outlets on 6 February 2023 during India Energy Week.

Data

Blending was 14.6% in ESY 2023-24, 19.2% in 2024-25 and 20.0% in 2025-26 (to August). In 2025 the IEA reported that biofuel use in India's road transport rose by about 50%.

Public statements

“India's ethanol journey is unstoppable.” — Hardeep Singh Puri, Biofuels 360 event, 8 August 2025 (PIB). In a July 2026 ministry release he described a phased approach to higher blends such as E25, E27 and E30. These are statements of direction, not notified targets (PIB).

Outcome

The E20 blending target has been reached according to official data. The benefits reported so far, including foreign exchange saved, crude substituted and payments to farmers, are ministry estimates.

What remains uncertain

Public debate has covered several issues: the effect of higher blends on older vehicles and fuel economy, the use of food grains and water-intensive sugarcane, and the full life-cycle emissions of different feedstocks. These questions depend on vehicle testing, agricultural data and life-cycle studies beyond the scope of the official releases cited here.

International

Global Biofuels Alliance

The Global Biofuels Alliance was launched on 9 September 2023 in New Delhi, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, as an initiative of India's G20 Presidency. The Prime Minister launched it with the leaders of Singapore, Bangladesh, Italy, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mauritius and the UAE (PIB). A ministry briefing of January 2024 lists the launch among the ministry's work (PIB).

International energy engagement

Sources

PPAC — Snapshot of India's Oil & Gas Data, August 2026 (PDF) — ppac.gov.in/download.php?file=rep_studies/1789735879_Final__Snapshot_o…
PIB — E20 achieved; cumulative estimates (5 Jul 2026) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2281287
PIB — Ethanol blending questions and answers (10 Jul 2026) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2283118
PIB — CBG blending obligation (Nov 2023) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1979705
PIB — Biofuels 360 address (8 Aug 2025) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2154355
PIB — Launch of Global Biofuels Alliance (9 Sep 2023) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1955963
PIB — Ministry briefing (3 Jan 2024) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1992767
PIB — India Energy Week 2023 and E20 launch (6 Feb 2023) — pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1896729
IEA — Global Energy Review 2026: Oil — iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2026/oil

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