With an aim to moving towards gas based economy, the government has taken various steps to promote the usage of natural gas and renewable fuel across the country. It includes increasing the share of natural gas in economy, promoting renewable and alternate fuels (ethanol, second generation ethanol, compressed bio gas and biodiesel), improving refinery process, promoting energy efficiency and conservation, and increasing production of oil and natural gas through various policies initiatives, etc.
In a bid to give a major thrust to Ethanol Blending Programme, the government is establishing 2G Ethanol plants through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). Additionally, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative has been launched for promoting the use of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as automotive fuel.
Last year, the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) was launched by Prime Minister Modi along with the leaders of USA, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Singapore, Bangladesh, Mauritius and UAE on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, as Chair’s initiative.
Since its launch, GBA has garnered enormous support globally as its current membership has expanded to 24 member countries and 12 International Organizations with a trajectory of on-going growth. Till date, three meetings of the Temporary Executive Committee (TEC) of the GBA, i.e. a committee of member countries responsible for proposing the establishment of the GBA, have been held. During the TEC meetings, the immediate initiatives of GBA have also been defined including Biofuels Workshop series and Biofuels Country Landscapes (Policy Framework).
GBA has also significantly enhanced its presence on the global pedestal by representation at international forums such as COP28 (Dubai), World Economic Forum (Switzerland), India Energy Week 2024 and World Biogas Summit 2024 (UK). GBA was also invited as an International Organization to the Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) meeting under the G20 presidency of Brazil and at International Forum on Sustainable Biofuels under the Italian G7 Presidency.
GBA aims at, inter alia, providing additional opportunities to Indian industries by positioning India as a knowledge base and as a production hub for biofuels including ethanol, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) etc. An active role in GBA helps elevate India’s position in the global biofuels sector.
The government has notified the “Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana” for providing financial support for setting up Second Generation (2G) bioethanol projects in the country in order to encourage the establishment of 2G bio-ethanol plant using cellulosic and lignocellulosic biomass including petrochemical route and other feedstocks. Under this scheme, six commercial 2G bio-ethanol plants and four demonstration 2G bio-ethanol plants have been approved.
Meanwhile, the government has been taking various steps to increase hydrocarbon production which inter-alia include policy for relaxations, extensions and clarifications under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime for early monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries, Small Field Policy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), policy for extension of production sharing contracts, policy for early monetization of coal bed methane, setting up of National Data Repository and policy to promote and incentivize enhanced recovery methods for oil and gas.