India's Department of Food and Public Distribution, led by Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, announced that if the approved sugar export quota is not fully utilized, the surplus will be capped and redirected towards ethanol production. The government recently increased the sugar export quota to 2 million tonnes, but exports have remained low due to reduced demand from the Middle East and Central Asia, alongside rising shipping costs and supply chain disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia. The committee established to explore increasing ethanol blending has representatives from multiple ministries and aims to provide recommendations before the end of the current ethanol year. The Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) seeks to blend ethanol with petrol to decrease crude oil imports, save foreign exchange, and lower emissions, with a target of 20% blending (E20) by 2025-26, advanced from the original target of 2030. As of July 2025, the national average blending has reached 19.05%. India has a surplus ethanol production capacity of 2,000 crore litres annually, prompting the government to consider alternative uses beyond blending.