India, July 23 -- India's biofuel journey, spanning over two decades, reflects lessons from failed beginnings and a shift towards multi-feedstock ethanol strategies. Yet, its future hinges on balancing energy goals with food, land and water security for long-term sustainability

India has traversed a long path in its biofuel development in the last 22 years. Starting from 2003, during its first Biodiesel Mission based on Jatropha-focused Biodiesel Mission, in 2018, India landed on a revised Biofuel Policy. In the late 2000s, following the Biodiesel Mission, feedstocks that were considered for India's Biodiesel Mission were mostly Jatropha and other multiple feedstocks grown in the wastelands of India.

However, the extractability of oil p...