By achieving the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending with petrol by 2025, India will be able to save foreign exchange of Rs 1 lakh crore, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.
He was speaking at a stone laying programme for Kribhco’s bioethanol plant at Hazira on Wednesday.
Addressing the gathering, Shah said, “India has achieved the 10 per cent ethanol blending target by 5 months in advance. In 2021, we had set the target to achieve 10 per cent blending by November 2022 and now advanced the target of 20 per cent blending by five years to 2025.”
“Increasing the use of Biofuels will help us to reduce dependence on crude oil imports and we have framed a scientific ethanol policy to achieve this,” the minister said.
India’s import of crude oil has increased from 172 MMT in 2011-12 to 212 MMT in 2021-22.
“Bioethanol is made from grains, molasses, plants and the 10 per cent blending has reduced 27 lakh tonnes of carbon production, and absorption of 27 lakh tonnes of CO2, helping purify our environment both ways,” he further added.
