Lok Sabha Question No. 61 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Establishment of Biofuel Stations
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Prathap Simha

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 61 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 th  September, 2020

## Establishment of Biofuel Stations

## 61. SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

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Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a)   the  progress of the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 and its progress towards achieving the goal of 20% mandatory biofuels in all fuels in India;

(b) whether a specific State-wise action plan is available for the establishment of biofuel stations in the country;

(c)   whether  there  is  a  plan  to  increase  the  capacity  of  biofuel  stations  in Tier-1  cities  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  Government facilitation and incentives for establishment of such new stations?

## ANSWER

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## MINISTER OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a): The  Government  has  notified  the  National  Policy  on  Biofuels-2018  on 4th  June  2018.  This  policy  has  laid  out  indicative  targets  of  achieving  20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel in the whole country by 2030.

The procurement of ethanol under the ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme has increased from 38 crore litres to during ethanol supply year (ESY) 2013-14 to almost five times to 188.6 crore litres during ESY 2018-19.

The important measures taken to increase the production of ethanol for blending include:

(i) Encouraging production of ethanol from sugarcane juice and sugar/ sugar syrup.

(ii) Fixing remunerative ex-mill price of ethanol from various feed stocks.

(iii) Extending interest subvention to distilleries.

(iv)  Amendment  to  Industries  (Development  &  Regulation)  Act,  1951,  for free  movement  of  denatured  ethanol  for  Ethanol  Blended  Petrol  (EBP) Programme.

(v) Reduction in  Goods  &  Service  Tax  on ethanol meant  for  EBP Programme from 18% to 5%.

(vi)  Extension  of  EBP  Programme  to  whole  of  India  except  island  UTs  of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep with effect from 01.04.2019.

(vii) Enhancing ethanol storage at Oil Marketing Companies locations.

(viii)  Formulating  an  'Ethanol  Procurement  Policy  on  a  long-term  basis under Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme'.

In  the  Ethanol  Supply  Year  (ESY)  2019-20  (1st  December  2019  to  30th November 2020) the Oil Marketing Companies have released Letter of Intents for procurement of 205.92 crore litre 1st Generation ethanol till 07.09.2020.

Government,  to  further  augment  ethanol  supplies,  allowed  procurement  of second generation ethanol produced from other non-food feedstock like cellulosic and lingo-cellulosic materials including petrochemical route. Accordingly,  Oil  PSUs  have  planned  to  establish  twelve  2G  Ethanol  Biorefineries in 11 States of the country.

(b) & (c): Fuels  blended  with  biofuels  are  marketed  by  Public  Sector  Oil Companies from all existing retail outlets across the country (except Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands) based on their availability.

Further,  to  promote  the  sale  of  biofuels  from  new  retail  outlets,  revised guidelines were released by the Government on 08.11.2019.

In these guidelines, the authorized entities in addition to conventional fuels, are required to install facilities for marketing at least one new generation alternate fuels  like  Compressed  Natural  Gas  (CNG),  biofuels,  Liquefied  Natural  Gas (LNG), electric vehicle charging points etc. at their proposed retail outlets (RO) within three  years  of operationalization of  the said outlet  subject to the entity complying with various other statutory guidelines.

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