India has achieved the target of 10% ethanol blending in petrol, five months ahead of schedule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday at event organised by the Isha foundation.
This, he claimed, led to a reduction of 27 lakh tonnes of carbon emission, saved foreign exchange worth Rs 41,000 crore and that India's farmers earned Rs 40,600 crores in the last 8 years due to increase in ethanol blending.
Last June, Mr Modi made public the “Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25," which laid out a pathway for achieving 20% ethanol blending by 2025-26.
"Due to the coordinated efforts of the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) the target of 10% blending under the programme has been achieved much ahead of the targeted timelines of November, 2022 wherein the Public Sector OMCs have attained an average 10% ethanol blending in petrol across the country," according to a statement from the Press Information Bureau.
A 2021 report by the NITI Aayog said that “immense benefits” could accrue to the country by 20% ethanol blending by 2025, such as saving ₹30,000 crore of foreign exchange per year, increased energy security, lowered carbon emissions, better air quality, self-reliance, better use of damaged foodgrains, increased farmers’ incomes and greater investment opportunities.
India achieved 9.45% ethanol blending as on March 13, 2022, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG).
