The government on Wednesday approved an interest subvention of Rs 4,573 crore for new distilleries producing ethanol, which can be used for doping in petrol, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

The minister said the government was targeting to more than double the blending of ethanol in petrol to 20 per cent by 2030, for which domestic capacity has to be augmented. India will need about 1,000 crore litres of ethanol for doping in petrol by 2030 against the current capacity of 684 crore litres.

He added that the cabinet has approved a modified scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in the country for producing first-generation ethanol from feed stocks such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn and sorghum), sugarcane and sugar beet.

The government would bear interest subvention for five years, including a 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.
Paradip go-ahead

The government has also approved a Rs 3,000-crore project to turn Paradip Port into a world-class port by setting up a dock. The Paradip port handles about 115 million tonnes (mt) of cargo which is likely to increase substantially to about 400mt by 2030.