Compulsory for all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines, says Gadkari
In order to reduce pollution levels in the country, the Government is aiming for an ethanol economy of Rs.2 lakh crore by developing an extensive industry and creating new markets for the biomass and agriculture sector, up from its present size of Rs.20,000 crore.
Addressing the 2nd annual conference on ‘Alternative Fuels Roadmap for India@75: Moving towards Greener Future’, Gadkari highlighted that the flex-fuel vehicles will play a crucial role to decarbonize the transport sector, making it sustainable for the environment, economy and ecology.
“We are going to make it compulsory for all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines that can run on more than one fuel to reduce pollution,” Gadkari told the FICCI organised conference on 8 Oct 2021.
The Minister also cited examples of Brazil, Canada and the USA, where most automobile companies manufacture flex-fuel engines.
“We will tap into the strength of the agriculture sector to produce energy and power. The production of bio-CNG from agricultural waste will solve the crisis of air pollution.
“We also want to promote the use of green hydrogen which can help us accomplish the zero-carbon emission mission,” he said.
Gadkari elaborated that the government intends to have electric vehicle sales penetration of 30% for private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles, 40% for buses and 80% for two and three-wheelers by 2030.
He pointed out that there is a substantial response seen in the domestic market for electric vehicles like electric rickshaws, cars, scooters and electric bicycles.
The Minister emphasised that, simultaneously, research on developing high-efficiency batteries and EV components is the need of the hour.
He applauded the centre and state governments for taking necessary initiatives to promote the manufacturing of electric vehicles by framing favourable policies in the form of incentives, GST exemptions, loan facilities, PLI and other schemes.
The minister stated that NITI Aayog has inspired 25 states to come up with EV policies, out of which 15 have already announced their state EV policy.
“To encourage electric vehicle, battery-operated vehicles have been exempted from payment of fees for issue of renewal of registration and new registration mark” he added.
India, the minister said, has made significant progress towards improving green energy access over the last decade and the government plans to shift public transportation to clean energy sources.
“The generation of bio-CNG from agriculture waste will solve the problem of air pollution caused by the burning of agricultural waste in the field.”
Gadkari said his ministry aims at developing efficient and affordable public transport systems such as metro rail, rapid rail transit, intercity bus services and monorail.
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Tarun Kapoor added, “We must look at alternative fuels in a bigger way as the world is in an energy crisis. The impact of the rise of the global price of crude and L&G has affected the Indians as we are largely dependent on imports.”
“We are trying to encourage ethanol manufacturing in the country and the motor vehicle manufacturers must be compatible with the technical requirements of ethanol.
“We have set up a committee for recommending ways and means for maintaining the octane numbers even with a higher percentage of lending,” said Kapoor.
“We have a target to set up 10,000 CNG stations in the country. We will blend CNG with Biogas,” he said.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Joint Secretary Amit Varadan said that the Ministry is committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 33- 35% by 2030.
MoRTH has issued various regulations related to the promotion of alternative and clean fuel transportation.
A robust regulatory framework is being drawn to foster the use of electric mobility in India, informed Varadan.
Issues like climate change and COVID are global problems that does not recognise boundaries and action needs to take place at a global level, added Dr OP Agarwal, Chair FICCI, FICCI Working Group on Future of Mobility and Chief Executive Officer WRI India.
“Hydrogen is becoming promising in areas where electric mobility today may not work.”
“We have reached the scale today where we need to urgently attract strategic investments in R&D as well as commercial manufacturing of better technology,” said Palash Roy Chowdhury, Co-Chair, FICCI Working Group on Future of Mobility and Chairman and Managing Director SmartE.
FICCI Secretary General Dilip Chenoy observed that alternative energies are becoming more viable though petroleum is the most used fuel for transportation, and it will remain the standard fuel for the near future. #investment #projects #OPEC #energy #agriculture /fiinews.com
