Petrol doped with 20 pc ethanol starts retailing in 11 states/UTs
Bengaluru (PTI): Petrol doped with 20 per cent ethanol was rolled out on Monday at select petrol pumps in 11 states and union territories as part of a programme to increase use of biofuels to cut emissions as well as dependence on foreign exchange-draining imports.
At present, 10 per cent ethanol is blended in petrol (10 per cent ethanol, 90 per cent petrol) and the government is looking to double this quantity by 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the higher 20 per cent ethanol blended petrol two months ahead of the planned rollout in April, at the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 here.
"We have increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.5 per cent (in 2014) to 10 per cent and are now progressing towards 20 per cent blending," Modi said.
In the first phase, 15 cities will be covered and in the next two years it will be expanded throughout the country.
India saved as much as Rs 53,894 crore in forex outgo from 10 per cent blending besides benefiting the farmers.
E-20 (petrol with 20 per cent ethanol) will be available at 84 petrol pumps of three state-owned fuel retailers in 11 States/UTs.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India achieved blending of 10 per cent ethanol in petrol, 5 months in advance during June'2022.
"We also advanced the availability of E20 blended petrol to 2025, 5 years from earlier planned in 2030," he said, adding that now E20 is being rolled out ahead of schedule on a pilot basis.
"As a country on a fast trajectory of economic growth, India is projected to witness the largest increase in energy demand of any country over the next two decades, accounting for close to 28 per cent of incremental global growth in energy demand," he said.
Use of ethanol, extracted from sugarcane as well as broken rice and other agri produce, will help the world's third largest oil consumer and importing country cut its reliance on overseas shipments. India currently is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs. Also, it cuts carbon emissions.
Use of E20 leads to an estimated reduction of carbon monoxide emissions by about 50 per cent in two-wheelers and about 30 per cent in four-wheelers compared to E0 (neat petrol). Hydrocarbon emissions are estimated to reduce by 20 per cent in both two-wheelers and passenger cars.
India spent USD 120.7 billion on import of crude oil in 2021-22 fiscal (April 2021 to March 2022). In the current fiscal, USD 125 billion have been spent on oil imports in the first nine months (April 2022 to December 2022) alone.
As much as 440 crore litre of ethanol was blended in petrol during the supply year ending November 30, 2022. For the next year, 540 crore litres procurement is being targeted with an eye to start larger volumes of blending.
The target of achieving average 10 per cent blending was achieved in June, 2022, much ahead of the target date of November, 2022. Encouraged by the success, the government advanced the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol from earlier 2030 to 2025.
The programme gives sugarcane farmers an additional source of income. During the last eight years, ethanol suppliers have earned Rs 81,796 crore while farmers have got Rs 49,078 crore. The country saved Rs 53,894 crore in foreign exchange outgo. Also, it led to reduction of 318 lakh tonnes of carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Along with the launch of E20, Green Mobility Rally was also part of the IEW-23 to create public awareness for the green fuels in the country such as E20, flex fuels, hydrogen and CNG etc.
The Rally route had displays of creatives showing benefits accrued in terms of foreign exchange, income to farmers and GHG emission reductions. The Green Mobility Rally had various types of two-, three- and four-wheeler vehicles such as E20, E85, CNG, Hydrogen vehicles.
Automobile engines can run on E-20 (petrol doped with 20 per cent ethanol) with minor modifications in engine for corrosion etc.
The government has notified the administered price of ethanol since 2014. For the first time during 2018, the differential price of ethanol based on feed stock utilized for ethanol production was announced by the government.
These decisions have significantly improved the supply of ethanol, consequently ethanol procurement by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) has increased from 38 crore litre in Ethanol Supply Year 2013-14 (ESY defined as ethanol supply period from December 1 of a year to November 30 of the following year) to contracts of over 452 crore litre in ongoing ESY 2021-22.
The current annual ethanol production capacity in the country is about 1,037 crore litres which includes 700 crore litres of molasses-based and 337 crore litres of grain-based production capacity.
Oil PSUs are also setting up second generation (2G) ethanol bio-refineries at Panipat (Haryana), at Bathinda (Punjab) and at Bargarh (Odisha), each with a production capacity of 100 kilo litre per day (KLPD) and at Numaligarh (Assam) with a production capacity of 185 KLPD.
As per the Roadmap prepared by NITI Aayog which is based on the projected sale of petrol, the estimated requirement of ethanol for blending with petrol is 542 crore litres for ESY 2022-23, 698 crore litres for ESY 2023-24, 988 crore litres for ESY 2024-25 and 1016 crore litres for ESY 2025-26.
Oil firms have procured 80.09 crore litres of ethanol up to January 30, 2023 for blending in petrol during the ESY 2022-23 and 6 crore litres of bio-diesel for blending with diesel during the financial year 2022-23.
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Zero voter turnout in 6 Nagaland districts amid shutdown call; CM says no problem with demand
Kohima, Apr 19: Polling personnel in six eastern districts of Nagaland waited for nine hours in booths, but not one of the four lakh voters of the region turned up following a shutdown call given by an organisation to press for its demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ (FNT).
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday affirmed that the state government does not have any problem with the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation’s (ENPO) demand for FNT as it has already recommended autonomous powers for the region.
The ENPO is the apex body of the seven tribal organisations of the eastern region.
Officials said there is no movement of people or vehicles on major streets in eastern Nagaland except those of the district administrations and other emergency services.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland Awa Loring said polling personnel were present between 7 am and 4 pm in the 738 polling stations in the region which comprises 20 assembly constituencies.
Sources in the CEO’s office said none came up to cast votes in those nine hours. Those 20 MLAs also did not exercise their franchise.
Of the 13.25 lakh voters in Nagaland, the six districts in Eastern Nagaland have 4,00,632 voters.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at his village in Touphema, some 41 km on the outskirts of the state capital, the chief minister said he accepted the draft working paper for FNT which was handed over to him in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Everything looks okay except the power-sharing the elected legislators of the region and members of the proposed FNT,” he said.
The ENPO has been demanding a separate state comprising six districts alleging that successive governments did not bring about socio-economic development in the region.
The chief minister, however, said the state government has already recommended an autonomous body so that the region gets sufficient economic packages to come at par with the rest of the state.
“When an autonomous body is created, there has to be a proper system with the elected members. The state government has nothing to do with this. The MLAs and ENPO should sit across the table to work out a formula. We can talk only after that,” Rio said.
Asked if any action would be initiated against the 20 legislators of eastern Nagaland for not casting votes, he said, “We don’t want confrontation. Let us see what will happen.”
Hours before the Lok Sabha elections are due to begin in Nagaland, the ENPO imposed an indefinite total shutdown in the eastern part of the state from 6 pm on Thursday.
The organisation also cautioned that if any person goes to vote and any law and order situation arises, it will be the responsibility of the voter concerned.
Nagaland CEO Vayasan R, while viewing the shutdown as an attempt to exert undue influence during elections, issued a show cause notice to the ENPO on Thursday night.
He said under sub-section (1) of Section 171C of the Indian Penal Code, "Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at an election."
ENPO president Tsapikiu Sangtam on Friday, however, claimed that section is not applicable in this context.
“The main goal of the public notice (for shutdown) was to reduce the possibility of disturbances in the Eastern Nagaland region, which is under our jurisdiction, and the risk linked with gatherings of anti-social elements,” he said.
Stating that eastern Nagaland is presently under a “public emergency”, he claimed that the shutdown was a voluntary initiative taken by the people of the region.
Sangtam said that the ENPO informed the EC on April 1 about the intentions of the Eastern Nagaland people to abstain from participating in the Lok Sabha elections.
The ENPO does not possess any mechanism to enforce its resolutions or orders but it operates solely on the basis of voluntary participation and consensus among the Eastern Nagaland people, he said.
