India has advanced the target date for achieving 20 per cent ethanol-blending in petrol by five years to 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, as the world’s third-biggest oil importer looks to cut carbon emissions and reduce reliance on foreign oil.
Ethanol extracted from sugarcane as well as damaged food grains such as wheat and broken rice and agriculture waste is less polluting and its use also provides farmers with an alternate source of income. Speaking at the release of ethanol blending road map 2020-25 on the occasion of World Environment Day, Modi said “the target for mixing 20 per cent ethanol in petrol has been brought forward from 2030 to 2025”.
