Ethanol Blending Programme: The Ripples It Could Have

The government's ethanol blending programme may have borne the fruits of lower dependence on fossil fuel imports, but the programme might result in a water shortage on the ground for water intensive crops such as maize, rice and sugarcane.

Experts said farmers have increased the area under cultivation for these crops as production of these crops could fetch better returns on the market.

Maize production has jumped over 63% to 55.09 million tonnes in 2025-26 from over 33 million tonnes in 2021-2022, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. One tonne of maize crop requires nearly 3,000 liters of water. 

'The increase is significant, and about 10 million tonnes extra maize is being produced just to cater to the ethanol requirements,” said GK Sood, executive director of Meir Commodities . 

'Sugarcane grow throughout the year and require a lot of water for cultivation. Farmers and sugar mills are increasing the area under cane to benefit from the ethanol blending programme, said Rahul Chauhan, director, IGrain India.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as on July 24, the area under sugarcane rose to 5.9 million hectares from the last year figure of 5.7 million hectares.

Ethanol distilleries require ample water during production. “One litre of ethanol requires about 7-10 million litres of water,” Sood said.

He added that many plants have not complied with the zero liquid discharge mandates. 

'Ethanol plants are required to comply with zero liquid discharge mandates, achieving 90% to 95% water recycling, and eliminating outside wastewater release. 

These rules are enforced through statutory bodies like the Central Pollution Control Board. However, many plants are not complying with the mandate, which is leading to wastage of water,' experts said.

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The Central Water Commission's data has indicated a sharp drop in the reservoir levels. As of July 23, according to the water commission, the levels stand at 70.432 billion cubic meters, which is 38.37% of the total live storage capacity of 166 reservoirs. 

However, last year, the live storage available in the 166 reservoirs for the corresponding period was 110.519 billion cubic meters.

'Considering 2026 to be affected by the El Nino factor, the reservoir levels are supposed to be lower. This could lead to water shortage, Chauhan said.