Government Rejects Ethanol Imports From the US
Government says fuel ethanol blending will continue to rely entirely on domestic production
New Delhi: Amid the ethanol controversy across the country, the government on Thursday has clarified that there are no concessions or commitments relating to the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the US, nor has it been discussed in the India-US trade pact.
Issuing a statement, the commerce and industry ministry said that recent claims in the media suggesting that India is importing and intends to import large quantities of ethanol from the US for fuel blending are baseless and factually incorrect.
“India's fuel blending programme and ethanol procurement continue to be governed solely by the country's domestic policy requirements. As per the domestic policy framework, ethanol used for fuel blending under the ethanol blended with petrol programme is sourced entirely from domestic producers,” the ministry said.
The ministry further reiterated that there is no import of ethanol for fuel blending from the US. “No concessions or commitments relating to the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the US. Have been made in the India-US trade discussions. Accordingly, any suggestion of a policy change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the US is misleading,” it said.