India refutes reports of US ethanol imports for fuel blending

Some news reports said India was buying a lot of ethanol from the United States to mix with petrol.

India's government said those reports are not true.

Ethanol is a type of fuel made from plants like sugarcane, maize and rice.

India mixes ethanol with petrol to make fuel.

This fuel blending programme gets all of its ethanol from Indian farmers, not from the US.

The government said it never made any promise to buy ethanol from the US during trade talks.

India makes ethanol at home to reduce the oil it buys from other countries.

This has saved India a lot of money and helped farmers earn more.

It has also helped cut down on pollution.

The government wants to keep using fuel made from crops grown in India.