India ’ s achievement of 20 per cent ethanol blending (E20) in petrol ahead of its original 2030 target marks a significant milestone in the country ’ s energy transition, with E20 fuel being sold across the country from April 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’ s celebration of this development is understandable, especially amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in global energy markets. What began as a modest pilot in 2001, followed by the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program in 2003, has evolved into one of the world ’ s most ambitious biofuel initiatives, making India the third-largest ethanol producer after the US and Brazil. Policy support has played a decisive role in this transformation. Since 2014, several measures, including administered pricing mechanisms, interest subvention schemes, and feedstock diversification (from C-heavy to B-heavy molasses, maize, and broken rice), have helped scale up ethanol production. The multipronged benefits of EBP are evident.…