The BJP has described the government’s Ethanol Blending Programme (E20) as one of India’s biggest public policy successes, saying it has boosted farmer incomes, strengthened energy security and reduced dependence on imported crude oil.

In a social media post, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said the programme deserves a holistic, evidence-based assessment rather than partisan critique driven by political point-scoring, adding that public policy of such scale should be judged by measurable outcomes.

Calling the achievement of 20 per cent ethanol blending ‘one of India’s most consequential policy successes’, he said the initiative had simultaneously advanced farmer welfare, rural development, cooperative institutions, energy security and environmental sustainability.

Citing official figures, Mr Malviya said the programme had generated an estimated 1.66 lakh crore rupees in earnings for farmers and helped save 1.98 lakh crore rupees in foreign exchange by reducing crude oil imports since the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2014-15.

According to him, the initiative has also substituted 317 lakh metric tonnes of imported crude oil and reduced 952 lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Mr Malviya further noted that the ethanol economy has improved cash flows for sugar mills by creating an additional revenue stream, enabling quicker payments to sugarcane farmers.