Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., a subsidiary of oil exploration Oil India said that ethanol production will begin at the company's biorefinery in the northeastern state of Assam in March, according to the company's managing director Bhaskar Phukan.

India, the third-largest consumer and importer of crude oil, is attempting to lower its crude oil usage by converting to environmentally friendly substitutes like biofuels.

The country plans to double the mixing of ethanol with gasoline to 20% by 2025.

The Assam biorefinery - which cost NRL and its Finnish partners Chempolis and Fortum 40 billion rupees - is India's first to use bamboo as feedstock and is expected to annually produce 50,000 tonnes of ethanol, 16,000 tonnes of furfural and 11000 tonnes acetic acid.

Furfural is used for binding components such as adhesive. India's northeastern region is rich with bamboo cultivation.