Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on July 4 said that the government believes farmers should not only be recognized as 'annadata' or food producers, but also as 'urjadata' or energy producers.
"All vehicles will now run on ethanol produced by farmers," said Gadkari in a rally at Pratapgarh, Rajasthan.
He claimed that if an average of 60 percent ethanol and 40 percent electricity were used, fuel would be readily available for Rs 15 per litre, greatly benefiting the general populace.
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"Pollution and import will reduce," he added. He also said that the current import is worth Rs 16 lakh crores, this money will go to the homes of farmers instead if they grow energy-producing crops that can be used to develop ethanol.
In line with the revised National Policy on Biofuels (2018) and Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, India is set to reach a blending of 20 percent of ethanol in petrol (E20) by 2025-26. India attained an average ethanol blend rate of 10 percent in petrol in June 2022, according to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
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Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has emphasised the need to move from hydrocarbon fuels to fuels that contain ethanol while also outlining the government's efforts to incorporate ethanol into agricultural and construction machinery.
Many times in the past, Gadkari has said that this transition would reduce India's reliance on imported fossil fuels, increase the income of farmers, and spur economic growth.
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