Ethanol’s hidden winners and losers
India’s ethanol blending policy is being celebrated as a step towards “green energy” and self-reliance. Yet beneath the rhetoric lies a troubling reality: the policy has become a bonanza for politically owned sugar mills, while ordinary citizens — especially car owners and farmers — bear the brunt. In Maharashtra alone, over half of the sugar mills are privately owned, and nearly all are controlled by political families across parties. From Sharad Pawar’s extended family to Congress stalwarts and BJP leaders, the sugar empire is bipartisan. When ethanol blending rises from 5% to 20%, these mills rake in crores in extra revenue. Nitin Gadkari’s family firm saw its turnover jump from Rs 18 crore to Rs 723 crore in a single year. But this is not about one leader — it is about a sugar lobby that transcends party lines. The government insists that old cars must be phased out and replaced with new ethanol-compatible vehicles. This diktat punishes car owners, forcing them into costly upgrades while mill owners pocket windfall profits. Worse, many mills routinely delay payments to farmers, leaving them in distress even as ethanol revenues soar. Ethanol blending also deepens water stress in states like Maharashtra, where sugarcane cultivation guzzles groundwater. Meanwhile, India has had to ban sugar exports to meet domestic ethanol targets, undermining our global trade position. The silence of the opposition is telling. No party dares attack ethanol policy because their own leaders profit from it. This is not energy reform — it is policy capture by a powerful lobby. Citizens deserve transparency, accountability, and a debate on whether ethanol blending serves the public interest or merely enriches political families.
Assis Everette Telles, Margao
Indian citizenship
Following the comment made by a senior Ministry of External Affairs official that an Indian Passport is not a conclusive proof of nationality or citizenship, even after the subtle discernment of what nationality or citizenship constitutes in law, it would be in the fitness of things that the MEA should now come out with a comprehensive statement indicating whether an Indian passport does or does not constitute a document of nationality or citizenship. It may be emphasised here that the Indian passport issued includes the full name, date of birth, nationality, gender, place of birth, full address, father’s and mother’s name, spouse’s name if married and is issued with the guarantee of the President of India. Until now there is no document including the Aadhaar card that contains so many details of a person, although the Aadhaar card contains the biometrics such as the iris scan and fingerprints. It should be a matter of urgency to address this matter since it has wide ranging implications that needs to be addressed immediately. Was the statement not on behalf of the MEA in toto and it thus should be addressed with utmost urgency. Does a document that contains the Ashoka and which is guaranteed by the President of India, not be one that needs to be considered as a conclusive proof of nationality or citizenship, even considering the different meaning in law. What about a person who is in possession of an Indian passport, Aadhaar card, Election Photo Identity Card, Pan Card and even the earlier issued Nationality Identity Card which had limited validity. This issue is not one of frivolous importance but one that needs to be addressed comprehensively as it has far-reaching implications for majority of the people of India. Who is an Indian and who is not according to the Executive, the Judiciary and why keep people in a state of doubt?
Elvidio Miranda, Panaji
Protocol needs review
Food inspectors from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and local constables get deputed at major events to taste the food for safety before VIPs and politicians arrive to feast. The inspectors must taste the foods, collect and seal the samples and keep these in police records for 72 hours. This protocol is mandated by the General Administration Department and then by the Ministry of Protocol. Recently it happened at the wedding ceremony of a Maharashtra politician’s daughter to a businessman’s son. Inspectors sent on “tasting” duty leave aside their routine tasks. Sometimes, the duty maybe for two weeks and this affects the FDA’s work. The inspectors cover high-profile weddings and also arrivals and departures at the airport’s VIP lounge and get no travel arrangements. Till three months ago, government doctors were sent to the events but those at JJ and St George’s (Mumbai) refused stating their prime duty is towards patients. Understandable that food and drinks served to VIPs need to be checked by FDA inspectors but this could be restricted to official events. For private ones (weddings, birthdays etc.), they should appoint professional food tasters or deploy sniffer dogs to check for poisons at their own cost. By the by, do the VIPs not informally eat and drink in restaurants or in the homes of their families and friends? Here there would be no inspectors to check the foods.
Sridhar D Iyer, Caranzalem
