Gadkari Urges Sugar Industry to Tap Ethanol, Hydrogen

Road Transport and Highways Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari, asked producers of sugar to expand their business and look into areas like ethanol-diesel blending and green hydrogen production quoting India’s surplus sugar output as one of the main concerns.

At the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference 2025, organized by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), Gadkari cautioned that an overdose of production alongside global supply pressures from countries like Brazil might adversely affect the domestic industry.

"India produces more sugar than it needs, and the surplus output will pose very big problems in the near future. At present, production costs are almost equal to market prices, so there is not much room for profitability," he said.

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After underlining India’s annual fossil fuel import bill of Rs. 22 lakh crore, Gadkari made the point that the country should cut down on its dependence on oil and gas and move towards cleaner alternatives like ethanol, bio-CNG, and green hydrogen.

Furthermore, Gadkari associated the shift to his grander concept of India’s automobile industry. "Our ambition is to turn India into the globe’s number one car industry within close to five years. The sector has already matured from Rs. 14 lakh crore when I took office to Rs. 22 lakh crore today," he said.

The U.S. automobile industry is currently at Rs. 78 lakh crore, making it the leader in the global ranking followed by China with Rs. 47 lakh crore.