Published on: May 12, 2022

ETHANOL BLENDING PACT

ETHANOL BLENDING PACT

NEWS : Three state-owned oil marketing companies and three public sector banks entered into a long-term purchase agreement for the upcoming five dedicated ethanol plants across India recently

DETAILS

  • WHICH ARE THE COMPANIES – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
  • WHICH ARE THE BANKS – SBI, Indian Overseas Bank and Indian Bank
  • It is regarding payment towards supply of ethanol
  • Ethanol produced by the dedicated plants will be sold to OMCs to blend with petrol
  • Indian pumps are likely to start selling petrol blended with 20% ethanol by 2025. Pact may bring down the cost per litre by nearly Rs 10 and also help reduce inflation significantly.
  • Ethanol will be blended with petrol to reduce the quantity of petrol that a vehicle uses. Hence, it will reduce import dependence on the country, which ships more than 85% of its oil requirement from overseas.
  • However, the major challenge is the deficit of ethanol to achieve this target. India requires 1,016 crore litres of ethanol to achieve the 20% target in 2025-26.