Fuels produced from recently living biological material (biomass) such as crops, plant waste, and algae, used as renewable alternatives to fossil fuels.
- Bioethanol is alcohol made by fermenting sugar or starch crops (sugarcane, maize) and is blended with petrol; biodiesel is made from vegetable oils or animal fats and is blended with diesel.
- First-generation biofuels come from food crops; second-generation use non-food crop residues and waste; third-generation use algae.
- Biofuels are renewable and are considered close to carbon-neutral because the plants absorb carbon dioxide while growing, though full life-cycle emissions vary.
- India's National Policy on Biofuels (2018, amended later) set a target for blending ethanol with petrol; the Ethanol Blended Petrol programme aims to reduce crude-oil imports and cut emissions (verify the latest target and blending percentage).
- Compressed Bio-Gas under the SATAT initiative and biogas from organic waste are related clean-energy efforts.
Biofuels, ethanol blending, biodiesel, and India's biofuel policy are recurring energy, environment, and economy current-affairs items tied to energy security and reduced oil imports.
Biofuels are renewable but not entirely emission-free; their net benefit depends on the feedstock and processing. Bioethanol (from sugar or starch) is blended with petrol, while biodiesel (from oils and fats) is blended with diesel; the two are distinct.
Fuels from biomass: bioethanol blended with petrol, biodiesel with diesel; renewable and broadly low-carbon, central to India's ethanol-blending push.