In 2025, ethanol blend in petrol will be increased by 20%: Puri

Kolkata: Union Petroleum Minister Hardip Singh Puri has said that the Center is focusing on making the country self-sufficient in energy needs. As part of this, work is underway to increase the blending of ethanol in petrol to 20 per cent by 203.

He said that currently the target of nine per cent ethanol blend in petrol has been achieved. There is an urgent need to accelerate the blending of ethanol for the energy security of the country. India imports 85 per cent of its total fuel needs annually, valued at more than Rs 12 lakh crore. The Center had earlier projected that the ethanol blending would be 50 per cent by 2030 and now it has revised it to 20 ethanol blending at this level.

In addition, the government is giving top priority to the drilling and production of natural gas in the country. The government is trying to attract foreign investment as well as domestic to boost gas production.

Asked if large-scale farming for biofuels would not affect the country's food security, Puri said, "We are pushing for the use of waste from agricultural products and in the North-East, bamboo can also be used as ethanol."

The National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency estimates that 20 58 billion will be invested in the E&P sector in 2023 and 60 60 billion in natural gas infrastructure by 2024.