New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- India's expanding ethanol blending programme for automobile fuel could pose risks to its food self-reliance if not carefully managed, as farmers increasingly shift from pulses and oilseeds to maize to benefit from rising prices of maize-based ethanol, the government's Economic Survey released on Thursday cautioned.

The country's move towards 20% ethanol blending in petrol has necessitated a move beyond sugar-based ethanol to that based on food grains such as maize, the annual document said. Prices of maize-based ethanol have seen a brisk rise in the last few years.

"Pulses and oilseeds are structurally important to India's consumption basket and nutritional outcomes, yet they are shifting lower down the priority or...