The Ministry of Petroleum on the occasion of World Biofuel Day, on last Wednesday, said India aims to achieve 20% Petrol-Ethanol blending by the year 2025.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said select petrol pumps within the country will start supplying petrol with 20% ethanol as early as April next year and will increase supply thereafter as India aims to reduce oil dependence. Ultimately, a fifth of all petrol in India will be made up of ethanol, he added.
The target of supplying petrol with 10% ethanol across petrol pumps was achieved ahead of schedule in June this year, prompting authorities to advance the target of 20% ethanol-mixed petrol by 5 years to 2025.
Also on the occasion of World Biofuel Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a second generation (2G) Ethanol plant in Panipat, Haryana to the nation today via video conferencing.
Terming the Ethanol plant just a beginning, PM Modi said that this plant will reduce pollution in Delhi, Haryana and NCR. The Prime Minister said that in a country like ours that worships nature, biofuel is a synonym for protecting nature.
“Our farmer brothers and sisters understand this better. Biofuel for us means green fuel, environment-saving fuel. He said that with establishment of this modern plant, farmers of Haryana, where Rice and wheat are grown in abundance, will get another lucrative means of using crop residue,” Modi said.
The bio-fuel plant of Panipat will also be able to dispose of the stubble without burning it, leading to many benefits.
“The first advantage would be that mother earth would be freed from the pain that was caused by burning stubble. The second advantage would be that the new systems for stubble cutting and its disposal, new facilities for transportation and new biofuel plants will bring new employment opportunities in all these villages. The third advantage would be that the stubble which was a burden for the farmers, and was a cause of concern, would become a means of additional income for them. The fourth advantage will be that pollution will be reduced, and the contribution of farmers in protecting the environment will increase further. And the fifth benefit will be that the country will also get an alternative fuel. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that such plants are coming up in various areas of the country,” he added.
The Prime Minister said that people who have a tendency to avoid problems by adopting shortcuts for political selfishness can never solve the problems permanently. Those adopting short-cuts may get applause for some time, and may gain political advantage, but that does not solve the problem. Adopting a short-cut will definitely result in a short-circuit. Instead of following short-cuts, our government is engaged in permanent solutions to the problems. A lot has been said about the problems of stubble over the years. But those with a short-cut mentality could not solve it, he said.
The Prime Minister listed steps that aim to solve the problem in a comprehensive manner. Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO) were given financial support for ‘parali’, upto 80 percent subsidy on modern machinery for crop residue, and now this modern plant will help in providing a permanent solution to this problem, he said. “Farmers who were given bad name due to compulsions of parali burning will now feel the pride of contributing to production of bio-fuel and nation building”. The Prime Minister also mentioned Gobardhan Yojana as an alternative means of income for farmers.
