Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India is likely to reach the goal of blending 20% ethanol in petrol by 2025, five years ahead of schedule, even as he lauded the efforts made in dealing with climate change that has put the country among the top ten nations in the world climate change performance index.
Speaking at a programme organised on World Environment Day in which he launched the E-100 pilot project for production and distribution of ethanol across the country, the Prime Minister said the government has resolved to meet the target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025. Earlier the resolve was to achieve the target by 2030 which is now preponed by five years.
The Prime Minister said till 2014, on an average, only 1.5% of ethanol could be blended in India which has now reached about 8.5%. In 2013-14, about 38 crore litres of ethanol were purchased in the country which has now grown to more than 320 crore litres. He said that a large part of this eightfold increase in ethanol procurement has benefitted the sugarcane farmers of the country.
Ethanol has become one of the major priorities of 21st century India, he noted. Modi said the focus on ethanol is having a better impact on the environment as well as on the lives of farmers.
A lot of emphasis is being laid on building the necessary infrastructure for the production and purchase of ethanol in the country, the Prime Minister said. Most of the ethanol manufacturing units are mostly concentrated in 4-5 states where sugar production is high but now Food Grain Based Distilleries are being established to expand this to the whole country. Modern technology-based plants are also being set up in the country to make ethanol from agricultural waste.
The Prime Minister said that India is a strong proponent of climate justice and is moving ahead with a lofty global vision like the founding of International Solar Alliance for realizing the vision of One Sun, One World, One Grid and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure initiative. He noted India has been included in the top 10 countries of the world in the Climate Change Performance Index. He added that India is also aware of the challenges that are being faced due to climate change and is also working actively.