India to levy extra excise duty on unblended fuels to promote ethanol blending

India will impose an additional excise duty of Rupees 2/liter (2.67 cents) on unblended fuels from Oct. 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Feb. 1, underlining Asia’s third-largest economy’s commitment to promoting biofuels aimed at reducing crude imports. India, the world’s third-biggest crude importer and consumer, has set a target to cut imports by 10% to 67% by 2025 through…