Meanwhile, India's grain-based ethanol production capacity is also expanding rapidly, with over 150 30, to meet the growing demand for ethanol production (Sandhu, Kocher, & Dhatt, 2024). While, according to Pal & Jat (2024), to achieve EBP targets like E20 by ESY 2025-26, maize production needs an additional increase of 18-20 million tonnes. It also necessitates an additional 30,000 square kilometers of maize cultivation by 2025-26, raising concerns about sustainable land usage