India keeps ethanol-blending push intact, with no mandate for lower-blend petrol at select outlets

The government said diversion of surplus FCI rice, maize and sugar to ethanol has not hurt food availability or inflation, backing continued rollout of higher ethanol-blended petrol. OMCs procured 705.43 crore litres of ethanol worth ₹49,577.36 crore through June in ESY 2025-26.

— Filed Tue, 21 Jul, 2026, 20:10 IST · Source The Hindu BusinessLine · Updated

India said surplus FCI rice, maize and sugar diverted to ethanol have not affected food availability, food inflation or sugar prices. The government will not require lower-blend petrol at select retail outlets, maintaining its progressive ethanol-blending policy.

Why this matters

No related recent FCI signals were provided. The update establishes continued policy support for using surplus foodstock in ethanol, linking FCI inventory management to fuel-blending demand.

Retail-company signals are accelerating, up +966300% QoQ.

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