Union Minister of Highway Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Thursday advocated for a nation-wide biofuel revolution, calling it a “once-in-a-century alternative” to remodel India’s rural economy, scale back its large fossil gasoline imports and sort out air air pollution.
Talking on the ‘Worldwide Summit Expo on Bioenergy Worth Chain’ right here, the Union Minister mentioned the time has come to flip agricultural waste, crop residue, bamboo and biomass into inexperienced gasoline and value-added merchandise.
Gadkari highlighted the pressing want to cut India’s Rs 22 lakh crore fossil gasoline import invoice and scale back air pollution attributable to burning crop waste and automobile emissions.
“India should shift from being an vitality importer to changing into an vitality exporter, which he believes is achievable via sustainable bioenergy initiatives,” Gadkari talked about.
The minister praised Brazil for its success with aviation biofuel and famous that India too has begun implementing related gasoline options at its airports.
“Sustainable aviation gasoline is a big market for the long run,” he mentioned, emphasising the necessity for high quality analysis and economically viable applied sciences.
Addressing the problem of stubble burning in north India, Gadkari mentioned it shouldn’t be seen as an issue however as a chance.
“Rice straw from Punjab and Haryana will be transformed into bio-CNG, ethanol, bio-bitumen, and even aviation gasoline,” he mentioned.
He pointed to Indian Oil’s Manpur venture as a profitable instance, which processes two lakh tonnes of crop waste into high-value gasoline yearly.
He additionally urged turning India’s huge stretches of wasteland – 70 per cent of which is unproductive — into bamboo plantations for vitality manufacturing.
Gadkari revealed that NTPC has already agreed to purchase bamboo as white coal for thermal energy vegetation, providing a brand new earnings stream for farmers and rural entrepreneurs.
“Agriculture have to be diversified in direction of the vitality and energy sector,” he mentioned, including that greater crop costs from ethanol demand — just like the rise in corn costs from Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,600 per quintal — are proof that biofuels can boost farm earnings.
“With out financial viability in agriculture, we can not obtain actual progress,” he confused.
Source link
#Nitin #Gadkari #calls #biofuel #revolution #cut #imports #boost #rural #economy
