Government is keen on a gas-based economy and wants car and commercial vehicle makers to increasingly adopt technologies that are based on alternative fuels, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said, made a strong case for use of greener fuels in India.
Addressing the automotive industry at SIAM's annual convention, Minister Gadkari said by building technology in alternate fuels, Indian automakers can capture the world market in this space. The said the Government has been pushing for greater availability of bio-fuels in India, and has ramped up CNG fuel stations from 750 in 2014 to 6,000 as of today. This will be ramped up to a 6,000 by 2030, said Nitin Gadkari.
"The government is keen to have a gas economy in India, since it is more cost effective and less polluting," he added.
Even methanol-blended diesel has been successfully implemented in some commericial vehicles by Ashok Leyland, which can now run on up to 15% methanol mixed in diesel.
Minister Gadkari also asked truck makers to ramp up the manufacturing of liquefied natural gas based trucks. "Will appeal truck makers to use ethanol, methanol, LNG and CNG."
Some reports have indicated that the Centre is keen to have as much as a third of its long-haul trucks fuelled by LNG, instead of diesel in five to seven years. A draft policy in this regard has been in the works at the Petroleum Ministry, which plans to allocate 0.5 million cubic metres of gas per day of LNG to meet the requirements of about 50,000 trucks for two-to-three years.
"In a gas economy compared to diesel, there is economic sense and saving. In single fill, LNG-powered trucks can go up to to 1400 km, and can result in a saving of Rs 12 lakh per year in fuel costs," Nitin Gadkari told car makers.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
