CCEA approves scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity for producing 1st generation product from feed stocks

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal to bring a modified scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in the country for producing 1st Generation (1G) ethanol from feed stocks such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn & sorghum), sugarcane and sugar beet.

The CCEA was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It has approved to set up grain-based distilleries/expansion of existing grain-based distilleries to produce ethanol.

"Setting up new molasses based distilleries / expansion of existing distilleries (whether attached to sugar mills or standalone distilleries) to produce ethanol and for installing any method approved by Central Pollution Control Board for achieving Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)," the CCEA statement informed.

The Government would bear interest subvention for five years including one-year moratorium against the loan availed by project proponents from banks at the rate of 6 per cent per annum or 50 per cent of the rate of interest charged by banks, whichever is lower, the CCEA said.

It also approved the proposal to set up new distilleries/expansion of existing distilleries to produce ethanol from other feed stocks producing 1G ethanol such as sugar beet, sweet sorghum, cereals and to install Molecular Sieve Dehydration (MSDH) column to convert rectified spirit to ethanol in the existing distilleries.

The government has fixed target of 10 per cent blending of fuel-grade ethanol with petrol by 2022 and 20 per cent blending by 2030.

( With inputs from ANI )