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Sunday / December 8. 2024
HomePosts Tagged "bioenergy sector in India"

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways Government of India

Bioenergy is a promise for the better future of India and indeed a win-win situation for our country. It has the potential to address several issues being faced by the country- from income to independence, savings to sustainability and employment to entrepreneurship. It has the potential to increase farmers’ income, make the nation self-sufficient in fuels with oil import substitutes, save the country’s huge funds, provide a sustainable alternative in the energy sector, grow employment prospects and provide entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly in the MSME sector. Let’s explore this further.

I have been observing and saying that we need to find alternative to fossil fuel. Oil import for fossil fuels like petrol, diesel and gas is currently costing our country Rs 18 lakh crore per year. Thus, the oil import Bill is a matter of serious concern for our economy. Finding alternatives to fuel imports to save the nation’s fund is paramount for our economy. If this huge amount being spent on oil import is saved, it can be utilised for the development of the country.

Secondly, fossil fuels pose serious threat to environment in terms of pollution they cause. This is a matter of serious concern as it could lead to increase in the respiratory and lungs related diseases. Reduction in pollution and moving towards sustainability is also possible by biofuels and bioenergy. One more cause for very serious pollution in parts of North India is burning stubbles in the farm after harvesting. Interestingly, stubble burning and bioenergy are complementary to each other. The stubbles can be used for bioenergy resolving three issues at a time – a) giving farmers income for waste which they are burning 2) converting the stubbles into biomass for different forms of bioenergy and 3) providing a solution to the problem of pollution caused by stubble burning.

Focusing on bioenergy development will also lead to farmers’ development. The condition of the agriculture sector in India is not satisfactory. Despite having surplus production of wheat, sugar, rice and corn, the agriculture sector is contributing only 12 to 14 per cent to the GDP of the country and the fact remains that almost 65 per cent of the population of the country is dependent on agriculture for livelihood. As a result, the rural population, particularly poor, unemployed and small farmers, has to face serious problems. To improve their condition, the agriculture sector’s contribution to the GDP should be more than 25 per cent and for that we need to go for the crop diversification – shifting our focus to energy crops.

Shifting to Viable Alternatives

Diversification of agriculture towards power and energy generation is the need of the hour. We have shifted our focus on the production of ethanol, methanol, Bio-CNG, Bio-LNG, Bio-bitumen and hydrogen (Green fuel). Alternative energy, green fuel, bio energy are very important for the development of the country.

To increase the use of alternate fuels, the government has launched various schemes like blending petrol with ethanol, producing first, second and third generations ethanol, allowing mixing lignin in bitumen etc. Recently the union cabinet has approved the production of ethanol from sugarcane, bamboo, B-molasses and C-molasses, foodgrains and broken rice and corn.

India is having surplus production of sugar, and the rate of sugar is less in the Brazil market. Hence, it is advisable to use surplus sugarcane for the production of ethanol. We have already started blending 15 per cent ethanol in petrol and very soon we will achieve the 20 per cent ethanol blending target. Automobile companies have started the production of cars fitted with flex engines which run fully on ethanol. Toyota has already produced flex engine cars and others like Tata, Suzuki are also about to launch flex engine cars. The flex engines generate 60 per cent of electric power and require 40 per cent of ethanol. If you compare the cost with petrol, the flex engine vehicles cost only Rs 25 per litre.

To read more click: https://agrospectrumasia.com/e-magazine

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport &

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister, Road Transport and Highways was speaking at the inaugural of International Conference and Exhibition on Bioenergy & Technologies 2024 in Dwarka, Delhi.

“Promoting the biofuel sector in India would benefit the country’s agriculture sector. Bioenergy sector is set to reach 50 per cent of fossil fuel in the next five years”, said Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister, Road Transport and Highways during the inaugural session of the India Bio-Energy & Tech Expo 2024.

Gadkari announced that 400 Ethanol pumps are starting in India, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Every year import of fossil fuel is 22 lakh tonnes.

He mentioned that it is not the problem with air pollution, but it is also a deep economic concern for the country. Today agriculture and allied industry share in GDP is 12 per cent, manufacturing 20-25 per cent, service sector 20-25 per cent. The promotion of the bioenergy sector will help to achieve a 5 trillion economy dream.

The 3-day event started from September 2, 2024, is organised by the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) and MMActiv Sci-Tech Communications, is an International Conference and Exhibition on Bioenergy & Technologies at Yashobhoomi – India International Convention & Expo Centre in Dwarka, Delhi. It represents a significant step in advancing the bioenergy sector and is supported by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Dr Pramod Chaudhri President, IFGE & Executive Chairperson, Praj Industries, Ravindra Boratkar Founder Member of IFGE and Managing director of MM Activ Sci -Tech Communication, were present at the inaugural session.

AgroSpectrum September 24 issue devoted to the bioenergy sector in India was published by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and dignitaries during the inaugural session.

 Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated that the government is making efforts to increase the use of biofuels in India. The target year for achieving 20 per cent ethanol-blending has been advanced by five years to 2025, and there are plans for 5 per cent blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030. Additionally, oil companies have been directed to sell 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol, and BIS specifications for higher ethanol blends (E12 and E15) indicate the government’s emphasis on biofuels and alternative energy sources.

IIT Delhi and IFGE signed an MoU for the Centre of Excellence at IIT Delhi for Bioenergy. The Biodiesel Association of India also facilitated awards to Indian Oil Corporation, Emami Agrotech, Blue Stone Energy, and Kem Energy.

The event will feature diverse exhibitors from the bioenergy, biofuel, biomass, CBG (Compressed Biogas) production, ethanol end users, technology providers, equipment, and machinery EPC industries.

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister, Road Transport