Working On Policy For Installation Of Ethanol Pumps: Nitin Gadkari

The centre is developing a policy to install ethanol pumps throughout the country in order to accelerate the adoption of clean energy and wean the country off of polluting fossil fuels, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said at a Bio-Energy Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Gadkari said his participation in the meeting with the Petroleum Minister in 15 days to make a policy for setting up ethanol pumps in the country.

“The potential of ethanol is enormous, and there is demand for it in Bangladesh as well,” he added.

Gadkari stated that we need 1000 crore litres of ethanol if we blend it with petrol by up to 20 per cent. “Now, Bajaj, Hero and TVS have motorcycles that can run entirely on bioethanol. We can also run auto-rickshaws on it,” he added.

In order to reduce import dependence and boost domestic manufacturing, India has been pushing for the replacement of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles with alternative fuels. According to Gadkari, the country's Rs 16 lakh crore fuel import bill is a challenge that must be addressed.

“We have three ethanol pumps in Pune, but we now need scooters and rickshaws to run on flex fuel and coordinate with the pumps,” he said of the status of the ethanol dispensation outlets that have been set up. He said that this can be expanded to Uttar Pradesh, and all scooters and auto-rickshaws in the state can run on bio-ethanol.