India's biofuel sector witnessed another boost this week with Praj Industries [Get Quote], the Pune-based biofuel technology company, joining an Icrisat-backed consortium to promote ethanol production from sweet sorghum.

According to a press note, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics to become a member of Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Research Consortium.

This partnership will go a long way in enhancing the commercialisation of sweet sorghum for bio-ethanol production globally, Dr William Dar, director-general of Icrisat, said. He earlier signed an agreement with Shashank Inamdar, chief executive officer and managing director of Praj Industries.

The agreement would allow Praj Industries to access research outputs of Icrisat on ethanol-thru-sweet sorghum to further refine their bio-ethanol engineering activities.