Lok Sabha Question No. 1310 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-19
Subject: Biofuel Policy, 2018
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 1310

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 19 th  September, 2020

## Biofuel Policy, 2018

## 1310. DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL:

SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL:

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

- (a)  whether the Government has introduced the new Biofuel Policy in 2018;
- (b) the details of the Letters of Intent obtained in furtherance of the Policy to manufacture biofuels, categorised by type of biofuel;
- (c)  whether the Government is on track to achieve the target of ethanol blended petrol as mentioned in the Biofuel Policy, 2018 and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) the details of the budget allocated for implementing the Biofuel Policy 2018, and the amount expended till now, State-wise; and
- (e)  whether the rules to be formulated under the Policy are in the final stage of drafting, and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): 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  Government  is  promoting  biofuels  with  the  broader  objectives  of  reducing import  dependency,  generating  employment,  providing  better  remuneration  to farmers,  promoting better waste  management practices, etc. The procurement of ethanol under the ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme has increased from 38 crore  litre  during  ethanol  supply  year  (ESY)  (1st  December  to  30th  November)

2013-14 to almost five times to 188.6 crore litre during ESY  2018-19. In the ESY 2019-20, till 07.09.2020, the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have released Letter of Intents (LoIs) for procurement of 205.92 crore litre of ethanol. For  promotion  of  biodiesel,  Used  Cooking  Oil  (UCO)  has  been  identified  as  a potential  raw  material  for  biodiesel  production  and  public  sector  oil  marketing companies (OMCs) have floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) for procurement of  Biodiesel  produced  from  UCO  across  200  locations.  Till  10.09.2020,  OMCs have issued LoIs for 22 plants having total production capacity of 522 Tons Per Day (TPD) of UCO based Biodiesel. With a view to promote the use of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as automotive fuel, Sustainable  Alternative  Towards  Affordable  Transportation  (SATAT)  initiative has been launched on 01.10.2018 under which OMCs are inviting Expression of Interest (EoI) from potential entrepreneurs to produce CBG.  OMCs have issued 556  LoIs  as  on  31.08.2020  to  entrepreneurs  for  production  and  supply  of  CBG under SATAT initiative. (d): In March, 2019, Government has notified the 'Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan-  Vatavaran  Anukool  fasal  awashesh  Nivaran)  Yojana'  for  providing financial support to integrated bio-ethanol projects for setting up second generation (2G) ethanol projects in the country using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock. The total financial outlay for the scheme is Rs. 1969.50 crore for the period 2018-19 to 2023-24. (e): The biofuel policy comprehensively covers various aspects of biofuel program including  strategy  and  approach,  interventions  and  enabling  mechanism,  role  of stake  holders,  institutional  mechanism,  international  cooperation,  etc.   At  this stage, there is no proposal to formulate rules.

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