Raw Materials for Biofuels

The National Policy on Biofuels (2018) expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production. It permits the use of sugarcane juice, sugar-containing materials like sugar beet and sweet sorghum, starch-containing materials like corn and cassava (1 and 6), damaged food grains like wheat or broken rice unfit for human consumption (2), and rotten potatoes (5). Edible oilseeds like groundnut (3) and pulses like horse gram (4) are generally restricted to protect food security and are not authorized as raw materials for biofuel production under this policy framework. > One-line conceptual takeaway: India's biofuel policy allows the conversion of surplus, damaged, or starchy non-primary crops into ethanol, explicitly excluding critical pulses and edible oilseeds. Answer: (a).