In 2003, the first commercial flex-fuel vehicles were launched in Brazil, with engines capable of running on both Gasoline C and E100 fuel. The minimum ethanol blend in petrol was hiked to 25% by 2014 and to 27% from March 16, 2015. Out of the 1,039 crore litres of ethanol supplied to OMCs in 2024-25, as much as 718 crore litres or over 69% was from grains, mainly maize and rice. For the current supply year (November-October), the OMCs have so far contracted 1,058 crore litres — 766 crore litres from grains and 292 crore litres from sugarcane-based feedstocks (see table). The constraint today, he claimed, is not in ethanol production (India already has a capacity in excess of 1,800 crore litres per annum) or retailing.

Source: Indian Express March 23, 2026 22:53 UTC