India has diverted a record 5.2 million metric tons of state-held rice to ethanol producers for the marketing year ending June 2025, according to government officials and industry data. The move follows an unprecedented build-up of grain stocks after favourable monsoon rains, which pushed national rice inventories to 59.5 million tons on 1 June—more than four times the government’s buffer target. Channeling surplus rice into biofuel is helping New Delhi maintain momentum toward its energy-security goal of blending 20% ethanol into gasoline by 2025/26. The programme nearly hit that milestone last month with a 19.8% blend, cushioned by lower supplies of traditional feedstock sugarcane after last year’s drought. The reallocation marks a sharp reversal from 2023, when poor rains forced India to curb rice exports. The restrictions were removed in March after production rebounded; the agriculture ministry now expects a record 149 million-ton crop, further swelling stocks. Analysts say additional volumes may be steered to distilleries unless the government cuts rice prices or raises the administered ethanol purchase price.