(ET)
The government plans to allow foodgrains during surplus production years to be used for production of ethanol that can be blended with petrol, in a bid to widen the availability of raw materials needed for making biofuel, according to a draft national policy on biofuels.
The draft policy, prepared by the oil ministry, has proposed an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% of biodiesel in diesel by 2030.
The current blending ratio is 2% for petrol and less than 0.5% for diesel. A faster adoption of biofuels can help cut oil import bill, boost job generation, spur indigenous technological development and cut environmental pollution, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday while addressing a workshop to discuss the draft policy on biofuels.
