Ambitious Ethanol Plan Sparks Food Security Fears In India

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration accelerated the nation's ethanol goal by five years, seeking to double production and to have gasoline 20% blended with the spirit by 2025.

India's ambitious plan to cut the use of fossil fuels by promoting ethanol derived from rice, corn and sugar is drawing criticism from some experts who warn the move could undermine food security in the world's second-most populous country.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration accelerated the nation's ethanol goal by five years, seeking to double production and to have gasoline 20% blended with the spirit by 2025. To help meet the target, the government is offering financial assistance to biofuel producers and faster environmental clearances. The plan is also resulting in the diversion of food grains meant for the poor to companies at subsidized rates.

Even as many developed countries debate limiting policy support for grain-based biofuels amid reports of food-price increases and greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, India is seeing multifold benefits. The government argues that the new target will help the world's third-largest oil consumer save 300 billion rupees ($4 billion) annually by cutting crude imports, reduce carbon emissions and boost farmers' incomes.

But critics say it's a self-goal for a country that's struggled for years to feed its poor. Though the Green Revolution helped boost farm yields and turn India into a net exporter of wheat and rice, it still ranks 94th on the Global Hunger Index 2020 comprising 107 nations. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 209 million Indians, or about 15% of its population, were undernourished between 2018 and 2020. The coronavirus pandemic is also pushing more people into poverty, dealing a blow to decades of progress.