National Policy on Biofuels, 2018.

This National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 is a sectoral policy document. The Goal of the Policy is to enable availability of biofuels in the market thereby increasing its blending percentage. An indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by 2030.
Biofuels, being a derivative of renewable biomass resources such as plastic, municipal solid waste (MSW), forestry residues, agricultural wastes, surplus food grains, etc., have huge potential to help to provide a higher degree of national energy security in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner by supplementing conventional energy resources, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, fighting climate change, and meeting the energy needs of India’s urban and vast rural population. The goal is to be achieved by (a) reinforcing ongoing ethanol/biodiesel supplies through increasing domestic production (b) setting up Second Generation (2G) bio refineries (c) development of new feedstock for biofuels (d) development of new technologies for conversion to biofuels. (e) creating suitable environment for biofuels and its integration with the main fuels. Through the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, the government will undertake various financial as well as fiscal measures from time to time to ensure effective development, promotion and adoption of biofuels in the country.
Adopting biofuels as an alternative source of energy can significantly improve farmers’ income, generate employment opportunities, reduce imports, augment waste to wealth creation, etc. Therefore, larger goals such as the reduction of rural poverty, generating employment, etc. would be facilitated through this Policy. Farmers are at a risk of not getting appropriate price for their produce during the surplus production phase. Taking this into account, the Policy allows use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
The Policy also contributes to ennabling more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems by encouraging the establishment of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds, used cooking oil, short gestation crops. Identified areas of intensive R&D work include (a): Biofuel feedstock production (b): Advanced conversion technologies from identified feedstock.