A key project aimed at promoting sorghum as an alternative feedstock for ethanol production in India has become embroiled in controversy. The National Sugar Institute (NSI), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), had launched a project to assess the viability of ethanol production from sweet sorghum. The initiative is being financially backed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). However, disagreements over scientific validation and evaluation protocols have now cast a shadow over the project’s future.
IIMR has raised objections over several aspects of the project, including the use of private seed company Advanta’s hybrid sorghum variety “Megasweet” for ethanol production. Advanta is also a stakeholder in the initiative. Citing differences over field trials, scientific evaluation procedures, and other key operational issues, IIMR has indicated its intention to withdraw from the project.
IIMR serves as the nodal institution under the Ministry of Agriculture for research on millets, including sorghum, while the National Sugar Institute operates under the Ministry of Food and specializes in the sugar sector. The two institutions have reportedly developed differences over trial protocols and several other aspects related to the sweet sorghum-based ethanol production project.
In a letter addressed to NSI on March 24, 2026, IIMR has "placed on record its strong concern regarding the ongoing trials of BPCL-NSI Sweet Sorghum Project." It says, "IIMR is concerned about the systematic marginalization of its role in project planning, execution, and governance, despite its national mandate."
The letter says, "IIMR finds the current framework of the project untenable and hereby formally conveys its decision to withdraw from the BPCL-NSI Sweet Sorghum Project with immediate effect."
In response, the Director of National Sugar Institute wrote to IIMR on April 2, 2026, dismissing the concerns raised by the institute and urging it to reconsider its decision to exit the project. The letter from NSI Director says, "The statement of IIMR that the recommended package of practices has been disregarded in the NSI-BPCL project is wrong and uncalled for." It also says that "the trials were conducted and monitored as per standard operating procedures by qualified people from NSI, Advanta, all the qualified personnel of sugar industry partners and IIMR."
Requesting IIMR to continue with the project, the letter says, "Being an important and valued partner, their continued participation would greatly contribute to the successful completion..."
However, in a subsequent letter dated April 15, 2026, IIMR reaffirmed its decision to withdraw, while expressing disagreement with the explanations and arguments presented by NSI. Rural Voice has accessed copies of the correspondence exchanged between the two institutions.
In its letter, IIMR raised serious concerns over the undue emphasis being given to the hybrid variety “Megasweet” under the project, despite the fact that it had been officially released and notified by the Government of India as a forage sorghum hybrid. The institute alleged that the hybrid had "never been evaluated under the ICAR–AICRP framework." It also questioned several aspects of the trial protocols being followed under the project.
According to the letter, the trials conducted during Kharif 2025 at Nirani Sugars in Karnataka and NSL Jay Mahesh Sugars Limited in Maharashtra deviated from "established agronomic principles and ICAR recommended Package of Practices." The reported deviations included "adoption of non-standard seed rates, spacing and failure to harvest grain separately."
IIMR stated that deviations "have not only compromised trial outcomes but also rendered the data scientifically unreliable and non-comparable with national benchmarks." The institute further noted that key project activities, including "farmer training and technical supervision etc were undertaken without meaningful involvement of IIMR."
IIMR maintains that "In the absence of robust, independently generated multilocation data under the ICAR-AICRP system, the promotion and testing of this hybrid in sugar factory settings through BPCL funded sweet sorghum project led by NSI, Kanpur appears both unethical and unprofessional and ICAR-IIMR cannot endorse "Megasweet" as a sweet sorghum hybrid. Such actions risk compromising scientific rigor, transparency, and institutional credibility."
It has stressed that "this hybrid undergo mandatory multi-location evaluation under the ICAR-AICRP Sweet sorghum trials before being considered for large-scale promotion or utilization in bioethanol production systems."
The differences that have surfaced between the two institutions over the sorghum-based ethanol project have now reached the Agriculture and Food Ministries. Senior sources linked to the ICAR told Rural Voice that unless the sweet sorghum project is implemented strictly in line with ICAR protocols and standards, its affiliated institute, IIMR, may be compelled to withdraw from the project.