Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri informed the Lok Sabha that the government has made significant progress in promoting biofuels as a sustainable alternative to petroleum products.

He said the initiatives are being driven under the National Policy on Biofuels, with ethanol blending in petrol forming a key component of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.

According to the Minister, the programme has provided multiple benefits, including expeditious payment of more than Rs 1.25 trillion to farmers from Ethanol Supply Year 2014-15 up to July 2024, and foreign exchange savings of over Rs 1.44 trillion.

Public sector oil marketing companies had achieved the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol in June 2022, five months ahead of schedule. Blending levels have since increased to 12.06 per cent in 2022-23, 14.60 per cent in 2023-24, and 19.05 per cent as of 31 July 2024. Ethanol blending in July alone stood at 19.93 per cent.

The Minister said these achievements underline the government’s commitment to promoting clean and sustainable energy while reducing dependence on petroleum imports.

News source: News on Air