NEW DELHI ¨C When Ajay Singh announced online that he had shut his ethanol plant in eastern India because he could not sell the fuel, the video quickly spread as a cry for help for a fast-growing industry built on the promise of government-guaranteed demand.
Singh said government oil companies were not purchasing enough ethanol despite contractual obligations, forcing him to halt operations at his plant where he employs some 600 ?workers.
Ethanol, a fuel made from crops such as sugarcane and maize, is central to India¡¯s plan to cut costly ?oil imports ?and reduce emissions from transport. Under the government¡¯s ethanol blending program, state-run oil companies mix ethanol ?with petrol before selling it at fuel pumps.
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