Ethanol tender raises rice-maize and food-security questions
Quick dive
- OMCs’ ESY 2026–27 tender set procurement prices at ₹60.32 per litre for surplus foodgrains, ₹64 for damaged foodgrains and ₹66 for maize.
- The surplus-foodgrain category carried a stated cap of 108 crore litres for the first three quarters.
- Sugarcane juice, sugar syrup and B-heavy molasses were excluded, while C-heavy molasses remained eligible for procurement.
- Industry estimates placed damaged-foodgrain ethanol allocation at about 60 crore litres in ESY 2025–26, with 2026–27 allocation expected to exceed 700 crore litres overall.
- exam_relevance: tests ethanol blending, food-versus-fuel trade-offs, feedstock categories and administered procurement prices; UPSC has repeatedly linked biofuels with energy security, agriculture and climate policy.
Full explanation
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