India, Jan. 29 -- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday cleared a hike in price of ethanol, a by-product of sugar, which state-run petrol retailers purchase from millers, a move that will aid the country's fuel-blending programme and ensure higher prices for farmers to cover for increased cultivation costs.

The Modi government's fuel-blending programme aims to reduce dependence of the world's third-largest oil importer on overseas petroleum purchases.

The administered, or federally set, price of ethanol derived from C heavy molasses, a byproduct of cane crushing, for the ethanol supply year 2024-25 (November 1, 2024 to October 31st 2025) has been fixed at Rs.57.97 per litre, up ...