Ethanol blending in fuel crucial for energy security: Minister

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Union minister Rameswar Teli has said augmenting ethanol blending in fuel was critical for the energy security of the country as it would help in reducing import of fuels.

Teli said exploration for oil and natural gas would start soon in Meghalaya and other states of the Northeast, adding that the Union government was focusing on it with an aim to make India a self-reliant country in energy requirements.

The minister of state for petroleum and natural gas said work on meeting the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol was on track.

"Augmenting ethanol blending in fuel is critical for the energy security of the country and it will help in reducing import of fuels," Teli said at an event in Shillong on Tuesday.

It will also encourage farmers to come forward to contribute to the supply of ethanol, helping them in increasing their incomes, according to the minister.

Teli underscored that gas pipelines would be laid across all the northeastern states and each household would be given direct gas connection, adding that the project to lay the pipeline would be executed by the Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd and work would start "very soon".

Teli, who is also the minister of state for labour and employment, is on a two-day visit to Meghalaya to review the status of implementation of centrally-sponsored schemes. At the Shillong event, he distributed free Ujjwala 2.0 LPG connections and other labour ministry schemes to the beneficiaries.

Teli said 62 per cent of the target of the Ujjwala scheme had been achieved in the state, urging the government to match the national average of 90 per cent.