New Delhi: Not only has the Central Government’s decision to use surplus rice stocks in the country for producing ethanol, been criticised for being done at a time when food shortage is projected due to slowdown in global economic activity owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasons given by the government for the decision – manufacture of hand sanitisers and ethanol blended petrol – though legal, as per provisions of the National Policy on Biofuel, 2018, have also been criticised for being shallow.

Reasons to Produce Ethanol from Rice Stand on Shallow Ground, Say Experts | NewsClick