Read the following Case Study based on Sustainable energy sources and answer question based on it.

India has been giving a push for alternate fuels such as Ethanol and more recently, Methanol to improve its energy security. India meets 85% of its crude oil requirement, 53% of its natural gas requirement, and 25% of its coal requirement through imports. Ethanol is primarily used for blending with gasoline citing twin benefits : substitution of gasoline to arrest rising crude imports and using a relatively cleaner fuel than gasoline. The Government of India regulates the prices of ethanol derived from various sources and procures it through the Oil Marketing Companies at pre-determined prices. However, ethanol primarily derived from molasses and sugarcane juice can ignite a fuel vs food security debate; Methanol, on the other hand, can be derived from different sources such as natural gas, coal, naphtha, biomass etc. Natural gas is the most widely used feedstock to produce methanol across the world accounting for almost 70% of the global production. India has given a strong push for methanol from coal since coal is abundantly available in India whereas natural gas is a scarce resource. India is on the cusp of a major transformational change as it transitions towards a low carbon economy. The energy policies of the country and those on the anvil demonstrate and focus on the country's transition toward cleaner fuels in a sustainable manner. And coal gasification of domestically available coal to produce methanol (deployed with Carbon Capture & Storage-CCS) presents an opportunity to accelerate this transition in an energy secure manner.

Methanol is preferred as an alternate fuel over ethanol because it :

(A) hampers energy security of the country
(B) will not create fuel vs food security debate
(C) polluting energy source
(D) coal is abundantly available
(E) relatively cleaner fuel than gasoline

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(B) and (D) only

The correct answer is: (B) and (D) only

• (B) will not create fuel vs. food security debate: Methanol can be derived from various sources such as natural gas, coal, naphtha, and biomass, unlike ethanol which is primarily derived from molasses and sugarcane juice. Since methanol can be produced from a variety of feedstocks, it doesn't necessarily compete with food production, avoiding the fuel vs. food security debate.

• (D) coal is abundantly available: The passage mentions that India has given a strong push for methanol from coal since coal is abundantly available in India. This indicates that the availability of coal, a domestic resource, makes methanol production from coal a feasible and strategic option for India.

The other options are not explicitly supported by the information in the passage:

• (A) Methanol is not mentioned to hamper energy security; in fact, it is being promoted to improve energy security.

• (C) Methanol is not described as a polluting energy source in the passage.

• (E) The passage mentions that both ethanol and methanol are considered relatively cleaner fuels than gasoline. Therefore, the cleanliness aspect doesn't explicitly favor one over the other.