India’s early achievement of 20% ethanol blending in petrol — a full five years ahead of the original target — stands as one of the most ambitious biofuel transitions outside Brazil.

The numbers are impressive: Rs 1.44 lakh crore saved in foreign exchange since 2014, more than Rs 1.2 lakh crore paid out directly to farmers, and upwards of 736 lakh tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided.

Yet beneath the triumphalist narrative of energy sovereignty and rural prosperity, India’s ethanol program is shaped by more complex trade-offs involving the economics, ecology, and food security of a nation of 1.4 billion.

THE FINANCIAL WINDFALL

With crude oil imports slashed by a cumulative 245 lakh metric tonnes since the program’s inception, annual savings of approximately 43,000 crore have substantially e

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