India is going to increase the production of alternative fuel ethanol as people are facing problems due to a rise in the prices of petrol and diesel, informed Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday.
Gadkari mentioned that automobile makers are producing flex-fuel engines in Brazil, Canada and the US, providing an alternative to customers to use 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent bio-ethanol. He made the statement while addressing a virtual conference organised by BRICS Network University
Gadkari said, “Now Indian production (of ethanol) is going to increase because of the rise in petrol prices, people are facing a lot of problems.”
FUEL PRICES AT RECORD HIGH
Petrol prices in some parts of the country, including metro cities Mumbai and Hyderabad, have crossed Rs 100 per litre mark due to multiple fuel price hikes in the past six weeks.
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Ladakh already retail Petrol at over Rs 100 per litre. Gadkari pointed out that the ethanol price will be Rs 60-62 per litre.
“As far as the caloric value of ethanol is concerned, 750 ml of petrol or 800 ml is equal to 1 litre of ethanol, still there is Rs 20 saving per litre. And it is an import substitute and cost effective, pollution-free and indigenous,” he added.
The minister pointed out that for all racing cars, all over the world, ethanol is used as fuel. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the target date for achieving 20 per cent ethanol-blending with petrol has been advanced by five years to 2025 to cut pollution and reduce import dependence.
The government last year had set a target of reaching 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2022 and 20 per cent doping by 2030. Currently, about 8.5 per cent of ethanol is mixed with petrol as against 1-1.5 per cent in 2014.
Gadkari said that ethanol procurement has risen from 38 crore litres to 320 crore litres.
