The present study is to characterise the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) status and its catabolism along with elongation growth in rice cultivars either possessing or not possessing the Sub 1 quantitative trait locus (QTL), i.e. Swarna and Swarna Sub1 exposed to seven days of complete submergence. During submergence, Swarna accelerated the rate of stem and leaf elongation and rapidly consumed NSC. In contrast, Swarna Sub1 consumed energy resources more slowly and maintained similar growth rate to that of non-submerged plants. Swarna Sub1 showed better utilisation of carbohydrate than that of Swarna by progressive induction of alcohol dehydrogenase, starch phosphorylase and total and α-amylase enzyme activity during submergence. Overall, submergence tolerance conferred by the Swarna Sub1 QTL is correlated with better maintenance and utilisation of NSC than that of Swarna.