India produced 154 million metric tonnes (MMT) of rice in 2025-26, surpassing China to become the world’s largest producer. India is also the top rice exporter, with exports of 24.5 MMT in 2025. This accounts for roughly 40 per cent of the global rice trade (61.3 MMT), exceeding the total exported by the next four largest exporters — Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Cambodia. India also gives free food (Rs 5kg/person/month) to about 800 million people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), of which almost two-thirds is rice. Even after this, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) held rice stocks of almost five times the buffer norm as of April 1. In 2024-25 (FY25), the carrying cost of this extra buffer stock was Rs 10,712 crore. The government has decided to divert significant quantities of broken/damaged rice to ethanol production to reduce these stocks and cut down carrying costs. In FY26, almost 5 MMT of rice has been used to produce ethanol. The economic cost of rice to FCI in FY27 is likely to be Rs 44/kg, while it is being given to ethanol plants at roughly Rs 23/kg, renewing the food-vs-fuel debate and raising questions about who is subsidising whom.

How did India, a country that lived from “ship to mouth” in the mid-1960s, become the world’s largest rice producer, exporter, free distributor, and ethanol maker from the grain? The Green Revolution’s success is only one part of the story. The other, more recent and disturbing, is the story of subsidies, which are........

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