The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh announced on Saturday, 27 June 2026 that the state now accounts for approximately 55 per cent of India's total ethanol production and hosts the highest number of Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants in the country, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath setting a target of 100 new CBG plants within the next one year.

Context

Addressing the announcement, CM Yogi Adityanath stated — 'आज देश के कुल एथेनॉल उत्पादन का लगभग 55 प्रतिशत अकेले उत्तर प्रदेश में हो रहा है' ['Today, approximately 55 per cent of the country's total ethanol production is happening in Uttar Pradesh alone']. He further noted that Uttar Pradesh already leads the nation in CBG plant installations and has committed to adding 100 more CBG plants over the coming year.

Uttar Pradesh is India's largest sugarcane-producing state, and its extensive network of sugar mills and integrated distilleries has historically made it a dominant player in molasses-based ethanol output. The state's Ethanol Policy of 2021 further incentivised new distillery capacity and diversification into maize-based ethanol, reinforcing its lead position.

Policy Backdrop

The claims align with India's accelerated push under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, under which the country advanced its 20 per cent ethanol blending target from 2030 to 2025-26. The central government's National Policy on Biofuels 2018 expanded eligible feedstocks and set blending targets across transport fuels, giving states like Uttar Pradesh a clear mandate to scale up production infrastructure.

On the CBG front, the Union government's SATAT scheme, launched in October 2018 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, aimed to establish 5,000 CBG plants across the country using agricultural residue and municipal solid waste, with offtake guarantees from oil marketing companies. Uttar Pradesh's agri-waste surplus — including press mud and spent wash from sugar mills — gives it a natural feedstock advantage for CBG production.

Stakeholders and Impact

The ethanol and CBG expansion directly benefits sugarcane farmers across Uttar Pradesh's western and central belts, as integrated processing of sugarcane by-products adds value beyond raw sugar and improves mill liquidity for cane price payments. Biofuel distilleries and CBG entrepreneurs stand to gain from fresh state-level incentives expected to accompany the 100-plant target.

For oil marketing companies, higher domestic ethanol availability reduces dependence on imported crude, directly supporting India's energy security goals. The circular-economy model — converting agricultural residue into gas — also addresses stubble-burning concerns that affect air quality across the Indo-Gangetic Plain every post-harvest season.

What's Next

The government's stated one-year timeline for 100 new CBG plants will be closely tracked against progress benchmarks and any revision of state blending mandates ahead of the 2025-26 ethanol season. Execution will hinge on land clearances, feedstock tie-ups, and offtake agreements with oil marketing companies under the SATAT framework.

If achieved, the 100-plant milestone would further consolidate Uttar Pradesh's position as the anchor state in India's biofuel economy and could set a template for other sugarcane-surplus states to replicate the integrated ethanol-CBG model.