Biotech Updates

Indian Government to Prepare Policies on Alternative Fuels

March 1, 2017
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/WVxosXBaocJfa1TyNOaJMM/Govt-to-prepare-policy-on-alternative-fuels-Nitin-Gadkari.html

The Indian government is set to make a biofuel policy framework that will help increase farmers' income, cut down crude oil imports and encourage global automobile companies to launch their flexible fuel vehicles in the country.

The move is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to increase farm production by 2022. The move will also facilitate setting up close to 1,500 industrial units for ethanol production in villages, creating more job opportunities. The government projects that the alternate fuel industry could be worth 1 trillion rupees.

The government wants to have more alternative fuels on the country's energy mix to moderate petroleum product consumption. India is currently the third largest energy consumer in the world after the US and China. Prime Minister Modi, in 2015, previously set a target of reducing import dependence on hydrocarbons by 10% by 2022.

The oil ministry is set to prepare two policies: one on the production of ethanol from various agriculture sources and another on the production of methanol from coal. Once implemented, the move could bring down crude oil import bill by Rs1 trillion.