India green lights surplus rice for ethanol production

In India, the Press Trust of India reports the government has approved the use of surplus rice for ethanol production that will be used to make hand sanitizer as part of the ongoing battle against COVID-19. Ethanol from rice will also be allowed to be used for blending with gasoline. Sugar mills have fallen short of the volume requirement to achieve 10% blending due to floods, drought and lack of production capacity among other challenges, especially now that ethanol from mills is being diverted to hand sanitizer production as well.