GOVERNMENT AIMS AT 20% BLENDING OF
BIO-DIESEL WITH DIESEL BY 2012 – SMT. MAHAJAN
Smt. Sumitra Mahajan,
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas informed here
today that in order to supplement availability of hydro-carbons
in the country, Government aims at commencing implementation of
blending bio-diesel with the diesel up to 20% by the year 2011-12.
Speaking at a Seminar on "Energy Challenges of 21st
Century : Is Bio-fuel A Solution?", Smt. Mahajan said that there
would be a greater emphasis on producing bio-diesel from non-edible
plants as the edible oil in India is in short supply. For producing
bio-diesel mainly the plants like neem, mahua, karanja, kusum,
jatropa etc. can be grown. Plants like jatropa have a characteristic
of growing in areas with scarcity of water, deserts and in wasteland.
Smt. Mahajan while
elaborating the advantages of the programme to blend bio-diesel
with diesel and producing other bio-fuels said that these initiatives
are crucial to the energy security of the country and to reduce
the ill effects of pollution caused by conventional fuels. The
increasing consumption as result of enhanced industrial and economic
activities makes India 70% import dependent which is equal to
about one-third of the total import bill. The goal of making India
a developed nation by 2020 would further lead to spurt in consumption
of petroleum products as the same is critical for giving momentum
to the growth. Smt. Mahajan stressed that a solution to the energy
deficit lies in development of alternative fuels or the non-conventional
sources of energy.
The Minister reiterated
the importance of National Ethanol Blending Programme launched
in sugarcane growing States and Union Territories w.e.f. 1st
January, 2003. The entire nation would be covered in second phase
and the blending would be increase from 5% to 10%. Ethanol obtained
from sugarcane molasses thus finds a new market bringing better
returns to farmers and environmental benefit as it helps higher
combustion of Petrol. Similarly, the programme to use bio-diesel
has great potential to benefit hydrocarbon sector since deisel
consumption is 5-6 times higher than that of petrol. Farmers and
rural areas will benefit with creation of new employment opportunities
in the entire chain of producing bio-diesel. This initiative would
also benefit the environment due to increased lubricity of diesel,
non-toxic nature of bio-diesel, etc. The bio-fuels have a renewal
source of supply from bio-degradable sources providing nutrients
to the soil.
