Biofuel Policy to come out soon, says MoS Pradhan

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the objective of ‘World Biofuel Day’ is to sensitise youths (school and college going students), farmers and other stakeholders about the benefits of biofuel and seek their involvement in Biofuel programme run by the Government. These efforts should be take up on a public campaign mode, he added.

Highlighting the various efforts made by the Government in the BioFuel sector, Pradhan said that The World BioFuel Day will be celebrated across 100 districts of the country in various states to create awareness about the bio fuel programme. These awareness campaigns are scheduled to be held in partnership with stakeholders of the Bioenergy sector.

Pradhan said that the Ministry will be coming out with the BioFuel Policy soon. The policy will take into consideration various facets like role of government, return on investment, minimum assurance etc. Recently Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been made responsible for BioFuel Policy. The Minister said that both the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will be working towards more utilisation of biofuels.

Pradhan said that USD 2 billion is being invested by the government companies by way of R&D on Second Generation (2G) Biofuel Refineries across the country. Ways are being explored on conversion of urban, rural waste to fuel; use of waste/barren lands for cultivation of feedstock for 2G biofuels. The Minister said that the potential for the bio fuel industry in India would be around Rs 1 Lakh crore in the next 1 to 2 years.

The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Gadkari stressed upon the importance of biofuels as cost effective and environment friendly substitutes to conventional fuels. He said that besides bringing down pollution, biofuels produced indigenously from agricultural waste, plants like bamboo, non-edible oilseeds, or municipal waste will help reduce the country’s huge import burden. In addition, it will also generate employment and boost the economy of rural areas, including the North East and the barren wastelands of the country. In this context, Gadkari said, a Biofuel Policy will be a major milestone in the socio-economic development of the country.