The sufficiency of food stock in the country is probably the most satisfying and positive news amidst this crisis. Now, the government has decided to use this surplus for some other effective purpose. The first in this line is the ‘surplus rice stock’.
The government has given Food Corporation of India (FCI) the permission to use surplus rice for making sanitizers. The alcohol-based sanitizers are in huge demand. The reason is that they are effective in fighting COVID-19. The rice would be converted into ethanol (alcohol).
This would be used to manufacture alcohol-based hand sanitizers. It would also be used for blending with petrol. The decision in this regard was taken at a recently held meeting of the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC). The Union petroleum ministry also issued a statement about the same.
“A meeting of NBCC was held today under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, wherein it was approved that the surplus rice available with FCI may be converted to ethanol for utilization in making alcohol-based hand-sanitizers and in blending for Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program“, said the official statement.
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As per the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 in a year where there is an over supply of food grains, the policy will allow conversion of these surplus quantities of food grains to ethanol, based on the approval of NBCC. Earlier the sugar industry has been granted permission to make sanitizers using this technique.
