Indian firm to invest in wheat-based ethanol plant

Oasis Group, an India-based technology, engineering and construction company, will build a wheat-based ethanol plant in Punjab.

The facility is worth around £51m (INR 500 crore), according to news agency Press Trust of India.

The ethanol will be producing wheat which is unfit for human consumption, the media outlet stated.

Currently, India relies mainly on sugar mills to produce its ethanol, which is then sold to petroleum companies.

Oasis Group's chairman and managing director, Deep Malhotra, told the Press Trust of India: "The plant will be established at its current unit, Malbros International, at Zira...in Punjab."

The group operates five distilleries across the country. The company had reported a turnover of £153m (INR 1,500 crore) in 2014-2015 and aims to achieve £204m (INR 2,000 crore) by the next financial year, according to the news agency.