Not long ago, the fledgling ethanol industry was the darling of investors, farmers, the federal government and a lot of Americans who liked the idea of turning corn into fuel. Suddenly, it doesn't have nearly as many friends. RISING PRICES: Is a bubble brewing in super-hot commodities markets?

Energy expert and Planning Commission member, Kirit S. Parikh spoke to Outlook ... Excerpts: The debate over food versus fuel has made biofuel a dirty word...

Fuel From The Fields: A Balance-Sheet What are biofuels? Made from renewable sources, biofuels promise a viable, eco-friendly substitute to fossil fuels. Can be made from a variety of crops like maize, sugarcane, beetroot, palm oil, jatropha-anything that is rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Typically, blended with petrol or diesel. Why are they controversial? Countries like the US are diverting their corn and maize crops to produce biofuels, thus contributing to the tight foodgrain position and spiralling global prices. What are the types of biofuel?

From panacea to pariah, biofuels have come full circle. Not unlike other advances of modern sciences

US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Monday proposed freezing the federal mandate for corn-based ethanol at this year's level, contending that using so much grain for fuel was pressuring the food supply. Hutchison introduced legislation that would freeze the federal mandate for corn-based ethanol at 9 billion gallons. The Texas Republican said this would allow for transition to a sustainable renewable fuel source that does not use food.

Prices of key food crops will fall significantly if the global community imposes a ban on crop-based production of biofuel, one of the key factors of recent food price increase, says a Washington-based research group. The price of maize will drop by 20 per cent, cassava by 14 per cent, sugar by 11 per cent and wheat by 11 per cent by 2010 in case of such moratoriums.

Bio-fuel production in big economies of the world is the basic reason behind increase in prices of food commodities in international market, as the growers in Pakistan have also started taking interest in cultivating maize that is the basic raw material of bio-fuel.