Panaji: Use of ethanol as fuel would help in lowering expenditure on petrol and diesel and also address the air pollution issue, said Union minister for roads, transport and highways Nitin Gadkari.
Ethanol is cheaper as well as better for the environment, Gadkari said while addressing the industrialists in Goa.
The increase in ethanol production and using it as fuel would help India to stop import of crude oil after five years, he said.
The central government with an aim to lower the expenditure on foreign exchange has set a target of blending 20 per cent ethanol with petrol by 2025. The roadmap for ethanol blending in India 2020-25 was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 5 this year on the occasion of World Environment Day.