Initiatives for biofuel reduced import costs by Rs 91k crore: Puri

India’s energy consumption is expected to treble by 2047, according to Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri. He was addressing following Tuesday’s opening of the three-day Energy Technology Meet (ETM) 2024, which was co-hosted by Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) and organized by the Centre for High Technology (CHT).

He emphasized India’s biofuel accomplishments and praised the Oil Marketing firms and private energy firms for their proactive commitment to reaching net-zero targets. He also reaffirmed India’s readiness to promote “Viksit Bharat” through improvements in ethanol, hydrogen, and biofuels.

He said that India is on course to surpass the 20% objective set for 2030, five years ahead of schedule, with its current biofuel blending rate of 16.9%. “We have saved Rs 91,000 crore in import bills as a result of the Government of India’s biofuel initiatives, while also providing a much-needed boost to the agriculture sector,” he continued.

He also highlighted India’s leadership in sustainable fuel methods by stating that it ranks second in the world for biofuel blending. “India can process more than 250 types of crude oil, and it is expected that its refining capacity will increase from the current 258 MMTPA to 310 MMTPA,” he said.