The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) on December 19, 2024, issued a notification regarding Government Policies to accelerate the growth of the Bio Energy Sector.
The government has launched the National Bioenergy Programme (NBP) to promote bioenergy and waste-to-energy technologies, aiming to enhance energy security and support sustainable development in India. Since 2014, measures to accelerate the biofuels sector and achieve enhanced ethanol blending by 2025 have been implemented, including expanding feedstocks for ethanol production, introducing an administered price mechanism for ethanol under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, lowering GST on ethanol, and launching schemes like the Ethanol Interest Subvention Schemes (EISS) and the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana to support advanced biofuel projects.
Additionally, to boost maize production for ethanol production under the EBP Programme, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR) have organized training and awareness programs. These focus on best practices for maize production, including managing fall armyworm, aflatoxin, mechanization, and optimal weed and nutrient management. Demonstrations of improved practices were conducted on 788 farms in Kharif 2024, and more are planned for Rabi 2024-25 in ethanol industry catchment areas. Specialized training was also provided to distillers and seed production organizations.
[Release ID: 2085997]
