India will use stubble to convert into biofuel

The Indian government is working to convert stubble into biofuel in an attempt to reduce crop burning, Union Minister for Forests and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav said in Lok Sabha.

He was speaking during a debate on climate change which also saw Opposition members questioning the government on setting a net-zero emissions target by 2070 at the Glasgow climate summit.

Shiromani Akali Dal member Harsimrat Kaur Badal stated that Punjab farmers were being “defamed” over stubble burning. She asked the Union government to provide farmers with resources to deal with the issue.

Yadav, in his intervention, said the state-run NTPC Ltd had recently procured around 3,000 tonnes of stubble to be used for making biofuel and added that the government will review the results.

He said stubble burning has been decriminalised and listed measures to put to use stubble for different purposes so that farmers don’t burn them.