Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Ethanol Blending in Petrol: Sugar-Based Ethanol Restricted

Tags: Prelims Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Hindu

Context: For the 2026–27 ethanol supply year, oil marketing companies (OMCs) barred ethanol made from sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup and B-heavy molasses to protect domestic sugar supplies amid poor rainfall and rising prices in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Procurement tender: Issued by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on behalf of OMCs on 16 October 2026, seeking approximately 11 billion litres of ethanol.
Permitted feedstocks: Maize, broken rice, surplus rice procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), and C-heavy molasses.
Pricing change: Maize-based ethanol procurement price reduced from ₹71.86 to ₹68.86 per litre; the maize incentive fell from ₹5.79 to ₹2.79 per litre.
Objective: Balance energy security and reduced crude oil imports with domestic sugar availability and price stability.
Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme: Promotes blending ethanol, an agricultural biofuel, with petrol. E20 denotes petrol containing 20% ethanol.
Key distinction: B-heavy molasses is a sugar-industry by-product with higher residual sugar than C-heavy molasses; diverting it for ethanol competes more directly with sugar production.

Q1. With reference to ethanol production and the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme in India, consider the following statements:

B-heavy molasses generally contains more residual sugar than C-heavy molasses, making its diversion for ethanol production more directly competitive with sugar production.
Ethanol blending can reduce dependence on imported crude oil, but the choice of feedstock may also affect food and sugar availability.
Under the E20 programme, ethanol constitutes 20% of the total volume of the blended fuel.
Ethanol produced from maize cannot contribute to the EBP Programme because only sugar-industry by-products qualify as feedstocks.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: B-heavy molasses retains more sugar than C-heavy molasses, so diverting it to ethanol can compete more directly with sugar production.
Statement 2 is correct: Ethanol blending supports energy security, but sugarcane-based ethanol production may compete with domestic sugar availability.
Statement 3 is correct: E20 refers to petrol blended with 20% ethanol by volume.
Statement 4 is incorrect: Maize is a recognised feedstock for ethanol production. Other feedstocks include rice and sugar-industry by-products, subject to applicable procurement policies.