Overview

• India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued an immediate-effect notification permitting exports of second‑generation ethanol for fuel and non‑fuel uses.
• Exporters must secure a valid export authorisation and obtain certification from the competent authority verifying eligible feedstocks.
• The policy applies to ethyl alcohol and other denatured spirits of any strength under the relevant trade classification.
• Approved feedstocks include wood waste, industrial wastage, agricultural and forestry residues such as rice and wheat straw and corn stover, sugarcane residue, woody biomass, grasses, algae, and other residue streams.
• The move follows recent domestic decisions to allow ethanol production from sugarcane juice, syrup and all types of molasses without volume limits for 2025/26, reversing tighter curbs imposed in late 2023.