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PM Modi unveils Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti plan: All you need to know
Updated: Oct 13, 2021, 15:19 IST
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the ambitious Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti Master Plan to provide multi-modal connectivity to more than 1200 industrial clusters, including 2 defence corridors across the country.
"We are laying a foundation for the next 25 years. This national master plan will give 'Gatishakti' to development plans of the 21st century and will help in the timely completion of these plans," the Prime Minister said after launching the plan.
What is Gati Shakti ?
The Prime Minister had announced 'PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan' in his Independence Day speech on August 15 this year.
The plan will break inter-ministerial silos and integrate the planning and designing of projects with a common and holistic vision, enhance India's global competitiveness through next-generation infrastructure and seamless multi-modal connectivity, ensure seamless movement of goods and people and enhance the ease of living as well as the ease of doing business, a top government official said.
Under Gati Shakti, a digital platform has been created which will bring 16 ministries including rail and roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. The platform will provide high resolution satellite images, infrastructure, utilities, administrative boundaries, land and logistics.
While the project will be spearheaded by the logistics division in the commerce ministry, there will be an empowered group of secretaries headed by Cabinet secretary to see the implementation of this major initiative.
Aim of the national plan
The “PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Infrastructure Connectivity to Economic Zones” with tag line ‘Gati se Shakti’ will include projects under existing flagship schemes of different ministries such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Udaan, expansion of railway network, inland waterways and Bharat Net.
Officials said that seamless multi-modal connectivity will ensure the seamless movement of goods and people and enhance the ease of living as well as the ease of doing business.
Gati Shakti will also help in fulfilling the ambitious targets set by the government for the period of 2024-25, including expanding the the length of the national highway network to 2 lakh route km, creation of over 200 airports, heliports and water aerodromes and doubling the gas pipeline network to 35,000 km.
Here's what govt aims to achieve by 2024-25 under Gati Shakti :
New mantra of progress
Talking about Gati Shakti, PM Modi said it offers a holistic vision that has adopted an unprecedented approach to deliver unprecedented work.
"We want to build & deliver an integrated approach that has a plug & play approach when it comes to world-class infrastructure," he said.
He said that if India continues to pursue its dream of building world-class infrastructure, it will have the potential to soon become the business capital of the world.
The Prime Minister also gave a new mantra for the 21st century: "Will for progress, work for progress, wealth for progress, plan for progress and preference for progress."
"Our government has not only developed a work-culture of completing the projects within the stipulated time frame but also efforts are being made to complete the projects before time," he said.
PM Modi unveils Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti plan: All you need to know | India News - Times of India
PM Modi unveils Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure
By PTI
NEW DELHI:, OCTOBER 13, 2021 14:08 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews the Mega Gatishakti Master Plan, in New Delhi. (A screenshot from a live YouTube video) | Photo Credit: PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a ₹100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy.
“Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti National Master Plan targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time,” Mr. Modi said at a function to launch the plan.
“The plan aims to lend more power and speed to projects by connecting all Departments concerned on one platform,” he said, adding, “the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State governments will be designed and executed with a common vision.”
Mr. Modi said taxpayers’ money in the past was ‘insulted’ through a lethargic approach to development work, with Departments working in silos and there was no coordination on projects.
He said, “Development is not possible without quality infrastructure and the government has now resolved to develop it in a holistic manner.”
“Gati Shakti joins various Departments for the coordinated development of projects from Road to Railways, Aviation to Agriculture,” the Prime Minister said.
Stating that high logistics cost in India at 13% of GDP was impacting competitiveness in exports, he said, “PM Gati Shakti is aimed at reducing logistic cost and turnaround time. This will give a boost to India as an investment destination.”
The Prime Minister said the speed and scale that India is witnessing under his government was never seen in the previous 70 years of independence.
Giving examples, he said the first inter-State natural gas pipeline was commissioned in 1987. “From then to 2014, 15,000 km of the natural gas pipeline was built. Currently, more than 16,000 km of the new gas pipeline is being constructed.” “What was done in 27 years, we are doing in it in less than half that time,” he said.
“In the 5 years prior to the BJP government coming to power in 2014, 1900 km of the rail line was doubled, while in the last 7 years 9000km of rail line doubling has happened. Similarly, against 3000 km of railway line electrification in the 5 years prior to 2014, 24,000 km rail line electrification has happened in the last 7 years” he continued.
“From 250 km of metro in 2015, the metro rail network has expanded to 700 km and work is on another 1000 km" he said, adding that "1.5 lakh village panchayats have been connected with optic fibre network in last 7 years as compared to only 60 village panchayats in the 5 years prior to 2014.”
“Vessel turnaround time at ports has been reduced from 41 to 27 hours and attempts are being made to reduce it further,” he said, adding “4.25 lakh circuit km of power transmission lines have been laid against 3 lakh circuit km in the 5 years prior to 2014. Renewable energy has expanded,” he said.
PM Gati Shakti plan involves the creation of a common umbrella platform through which infrastructure projects can be planned and implemented in an efficacious manner by way of coordination between various Ministries/Departments on a real-time basis.
With more visibility and availability of information and data on a real-time basis, there will be efficient implementation of infrastructure projects, less information asymmetry between Ministries, reduction in working in silos as well as fewer delays due to lack of coordination between various government agencies.
PM Modi on August 15 announced a ₹100 lakh crore 'Gatishakti' initiative to bring employment opportunities for the youth, help local manufacturers become globally competitive and aid in holistic infrastructure growth.
PM Modi unveils Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure
Updated: Oct 13, 2021, 15:19 IST
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the ambitious Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti Master Plan to provide multi-modal connectivity to more than 1200 industrial clusters, including 2 defence corridors across the country.
"We are laying a foundation for the next 25 years. This national master plan will give 'Gatishakti' to development plans of the 21st century and will help in the timely completion of these plans," the Prime Minister said after launching the plan.
What is Gati Shakti ?
The Prime Minister had announced 'PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan' in his Independence Day speech on August 15 this year.
The plan will break inter-ministerial silos and integrate the planning and designing of projects with a common and holistic vision, enhance India's global competitiveness through next-generation infrastructure and seamless multi-modal connectivity, ensure seamless movement of goods and people and enhance the ease of living as well as the ease of doing business, a top government official said.
Under Gati Shakti, a digital platform has been created which will bring 16 ministries including rail and roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. The platform will provide high resolution satellite images, infrastructure, utilities, administrative boundaries, land and logistics.
While the project will be spearheaded by the logistics division in the commerce ministry, there will be an empowered group of secretaries headed by Cabinet secretary to see the implementation of this major initiative.
Aim of the national plan
The “PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Infrastructure Connectivity to Economic Zones” with tag line ‘Gati se Shakti’ will include projects under existing flagship schemes of different ministries such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Udaan, expansion of railway network, inland waterways and Bharat Net.
Officials said that seamless multi-modal connectivity will ensure the seamless movement of goods and people and enhance the ease of living as well as the ease of doing business.
Gati Shakti will also help in fulfilling the ambitious targets set by the government for the period of 2024-25, including expanding the the length of the national highway network to 2 lakh route km, creation of over 200 airports, heliports and water aerodromes and doubling the gas pipeline network to 35,000 km.
Here's what govt aims to achieve by 2024-25 under Gati Shakti :
- 11 industrial corridors and two new defence corridors in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh
- 4G connectivity in all villages
- Increasing renewable energy capacity to 225 GW from 87.7 GW
- Expanding the national highway network to 2 lakh km
- Increasing length of transmission network to 4,54,200 circuit km
- Creation of 220 new airports, heliports and water aerodromes
- Increasing cargo handling capacity of railways to 1,600 million tons from 1210 million tons
- Adding 17,000 km to gas pipeline network
- 202 fishing clusters/harbours/landing centres
New mantra of progress
Talking about Gati Shakti, PM Modi said it offers a holistic vision that has adopted an unprecedented approach to deliver unprecedented work.
"We want to build & deliver an integrated approach that has a plug & play approach when it comes to world-class infrastructure," he said.
He said that if India continues to pursue its dream of building world-class infrastructure, it will have the potential to soon become the business capital of the world.
The Prime Minister also gave a new mantra for the 21st century: "Will for progress, work for progress, wealth for progress, plan for progress and preference for progress."
"Our government has not only developed a work-culture of completing the projects within the stipulated time frame but also efforts are being made to complete the projects before time," he said.
PM Modi unveils Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti plan: All you need to know | India News - Times of India
PM Modi unveils Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure
By PTI
NEW DELHI:, OCTOBER 13, 2021 14:08 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews the Mega Gatishakti Master Plan, in New Delhi. (A screenshot from a live YouTube video) | Photo Credit: PTI
“PM Gati Shakti targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time,” Mr. Modi said at a function to launch the plan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a ₹100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy.
“Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti National Master Plan targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time,” Mr. Modi said at a function to launch the plan.
“The plan aims to lend more power and speed to projects by connecting all Departments concerned on one platform,” he said, adding, “the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State governments will be designed and executed with a common vision.”
Mr. Modi said taxpayers’ money in the past was ‘insulted’ through a lethargic approach to development work, with Departments working in silos and there was no coordination on projects.
He said, “Development is not possible without quality infrastructure and the government has now resolved to develop it in a holistic manner.”
“Gati Shakti joins various Departments for the coordinated development of projects from Road to Railways, Aviation to Agriculture,” the Prime Minister said.
Stating that high logistics cost in India at 13% of GDP was impacting competitiveness in exports, he said, “PM Gati Shakti is aimed at reducing logistic cost and turnaround time. This will give a boost to India as an investment destination.”
The Prime Minister said the speed and scale that India is witnessing under his government was never seen in the previous 70 years of independence.
Giving examples, he said the first inter-State natural gas pipeline was commissioned in 1987. “From then to 2014, 15,000 km of the natural gas pipeline was built. Currently, more than 16,000 km of the new gas pipeline is being constructed.” “What was done in 27 years, we are doing in it in less than half that time,” he said.
“In the 5 years prior to the BJP government coming to power in 2014, 1900 km of the rail line was doubled, while in the last 7 years 9000km of rail line doubling has happened. Similarly, against 3000 km of railway line electrification in the 5 years prior to 2014, 24,000 km rail line electrification has happened in the last 7 years” he continued.
“From 250 km of metro in 2015, the metro rail network has expanded to 700 km and work is on another 1000 km" he said, adding that "1.5 lakh village panchayats have been connected with optic fibre network in last 7 years as compared to only 60 village panchayats in the 5 years prior to 2014.”
“Vessel turnaround time at ports has been reduced from 41 to 27 hours and attempts are being made to reduce it further,” he said, adding “4.25 lakh circuit km of power transmission lines have been laid against 3 lakh circuit km in the 5 years prior to 2014. Renewable energy has expanded,” he said.
PM Gati Shakti plan involves the creation of a common umbrella platform through which infrastructure projects can be planned and implemented in an efficacious manner by way of coordination between various Ministries/Departments on a real-time basis.
With more visibility and availability of information and data on a real-time basis, there will be efficient implementation of infrastructure projects, less information asymmetry between Ministries, reduction in working in silos as well as fewer delays due to lack of coordination between various government agencies.
PM Modi on August 15 announced a ₹100 lakh crore 'Gatishakti' initiative to bring employment opportunities for the youth, help local manufacturers become globally competitive and aid in holistic infrastructure growth.
PM Modi unveils Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure
India on track to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025
By FE Bureau | October 09, 2021 5:20 AM
Addressing a meet, director general of ISMA Abhinash Verma said from a current replacement level of 8.2% of ethanol, the country is looking at a 20% replacement by 2025.
In 2021, the production capacity in the country is at 6 billion litre, including 5 billion litre from molasses-based sector and standalone molasses units. (Representative Image)
India is on track to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025, and has enough feedstock to produce 10 billion litre of the organic chemical compound, industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said on Friday.
Addressing a meet, director general of ISMA Abhinash Verma said from a current replacement level of 8.2% of ethanol, the country is looking at a 20% replacement by 2025. “Around 12 billion litre of installed capacity would be required by the year 2025 for ethanol production and against that we are looking at 6- 6.5 billion litre of installed capacity in sugarcane, 5-5.5-billion litre capacity in grain or corn side, which means a total of 10 billion litre of ethanol,” he said.
In 2021, the production capacity in the country is at 6 billion litre, including 5 billion litre from molasses-based sector and standalone molasses units. With several incentives (by the Centre, and now several states), huge interest is being shown by investors to set up ethanol production capacities, Verma said. Around 800 projects have been registered with the Centre, he said. Some sugar companies are setting up dual-feed ethanol plants, where corn and grains can be used in addition to sugarcane and molasses. Therefore, by 2025, adequate capacities are expected to produce and supply around 10 billion litre of ethanol, he said.
At present, the current supplies of 3 billion litre includes diversion of 2 million tonne of sugar to ethanol. The diversion of another 5 million tonne of the surplus sugar produced each year will give an additional 3 billion litre of ethanol, he said. This means the country has enough feedstock to get around 6 to 6.5 billion litres of ethanol from molasses and sugarcane by 2025. “Another 4.5 billion litre would come from corn and grain. That will require around 16-17 million tonne of corn and grain. The current yield of corn in India is 3 tonne per hectare, which gives 28 million tonne of corn. Increasing yields to the world average, India can produce another 18.5 million tonne of corn, and this will take care of the feedstock requirements,” he said.
More importantly, no diversion of crop area would be required to meet the ethanol production targets.
On the demand side, India will need vehicles that can take 20% blended ethanol. The government has announced that from April 2023 all new vehicles will be E20 compliant. “There is also news that the government will order for FFV (flex fuel vehicle) production soon. So a significant part of the fleet of vehicles will run on 85% ethanol. It has also fixed standards for E12 and E15 vehicles, which are expected to be rolled out over next two-three years,” Verma said. Hence, by 2025, India will have a fleet of vehicles which are E12-15 compliant, E20 compliant in addition to FFVs, he said.
Sridhar Goud, ED, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), said that ethanol blending has been achieved in all the states and Union territories (UTs) in 2020-21.“The business of ethanol is more than Rs 20,000-crore opportunity in the current year and there have been 220 bidders in the current EOIs which are floated every month. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) have received the highest allocation of 367 crore litre and OMCs have also achieved highest- ever ethanol blending of 7.93%,” he said. OMCs are augmenting ethanol tankage from current 17 crore litre to 43 crore litre, he added.
India on track to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025
By FE Bureau | October 09, 2021 5:20 AM
Addressing a meet, director general of ISMA Abhinash Verma said from a current replacement level of 8.2% of ethanol, the country is looking at a 20% replacement by 2025.
In 2021, the production capacity in the country is at 6 billion litre, including 5 billion litre from molasses-based sector and standalone molasses units. (Representative Image)
India is on track to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025, and has enough feedstock to produce 10 billion litre of the organic chemical compound, industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said on Friday.
Addressing a meet, director general of ISMA Abhinash Verma said from a current replacement level of 8.2% of ethanol, the country is looking at a 20% replacement by 2025. “Around 12 billion litre of installed capacity would be required by the year 2025 for ethanol production and against that we are looking at 6- 6.5 billion litre of installed capacity in sugarcane, 5-5.5-billion litre capacity in grain or corn side, which means a total of 10 billion litre of ethanol,” he said.
In 2021, the production capacity in the country is at 6 billion litre, including 5 billion litre from molasses-based sector and standalone molasses units. With several incentives (by the Centre, and now several states), huge interest is being shown by investors to set up ethanol production capacities, Verma said. Around 800 projects have been registered with the Centre, he said. Some sugar companies are setting up dual-feed ethanol plants, where corn and grains can be used in addition to sugarcane and molasses. Therefore, by 2025, adequate capacities are expected to produce and supply around 10 billion litre of ethanol, he said.
At present, the current supplies of 3 billion litre includes diversion of 2 million tonne of sugar to ethanol. The diversion of another 5 million tonne of the surplus sugar produced each year will give an additional 3 billion litre of ethanol, he said. This means the country has enough feedstock to get around 6 to 6.5 billion litres of ethanol from molasses and sugarcane by 2025. “Another 4.5 billion litre would come from corn and grain. That will require around 16-17 million tonne of corn and grain. The current yield of corn in India is 3 tonne per hectare, which gives 28 million tonne of corn. Increasing yields to the world average, India can produce another 18.5 million tonne of corn, and this will take care of the feedstock requirements,” he said.
More importantly, no diversion of crop area would be required to meet the ethanol production targets.
On the demand side, India will need vehicles that can take 20% blended ethanol. The government has announced that from April 2023 all new vehicles will be E20 compliant. “There is also news that the government will order for FFV (flex fuel vehicle) production soon. So a significant part of the fleet of vehicles will run on 85% ethanol. It has also fixed standards for E12 and E15 vehicles, which are expected to be rolled out over next two-three years,” Verma said. Hence, by 2025, India will have a fleet of vehicles which are E12-15 compliant, E20 compliant in addition to FFVs, he said.
Sridhar Goud, ED, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), said that ethanol blending has been achieved in all the states and Union territories (UTs) in 2020-21.“The business of ethanol is more than Rs 20,000-crore opportunity in the current year and there have been 220 bidders in the current EOIs which are floated every month. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) have received the highest allocation of 367 crore litre and OMCs have also achieved highest- ever ethanol blending of 7.93%,” he said. OMCs are augmenting ethanol tankage from current 17 crore litre to 43 crore litre, he added.
India on track to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025
Govt promoting ethanol production in a big way, Nitin Gadkari says
By PTI | October 12, 2021 6:46 PM
"We are planning to introduce flex-fuel vehicles soon which allow the operation of the vehicles on 100 per cent bio-ethanol or 100 per cent petrol," he added.
Gadkari emphasised on conducting research on how to successfully blend ethanol with diesel. (File photo)
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday stressed on the need to divert excess sugar stock for ethanol manufacturing as provision of subsidies on exports of sweetener will not be permissable after December 2023 under the WTO regime.
Addressing a webinar on alternative fuels organised by industry body ISMA, the minister said the government is promoting ethanol manufacturing in a big way and assured that it will procure all ethanol produced in the country.
With increased supply of ethanol, Gadkari said the government plans to introduce flex fuel engine vehicles in the country. With the rollout of flex-fuel vehicles on 100 per cent bio-ethanol, the demand for ethanol will immediately jump by 4 to 5 times, he added. The minister also asked sugar mills to set up their own ethanol pumps, which are being permitted by the government.
“It is under our purview that we can take the decision for making mandatory flex engine for the petrol vehicles. So, that can increase the demand of ethanol in Indian market,” Gadkari said. Stating that the government is giving permission for the ethanol pump, the minister told sugar mills that they can establish their own pumps. “Now there is a policy and my own sugar factory, also my son has taken the permission,” he added.
Gadkari said the government is providing export subsidy to the tune of Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 crore to sugar mills for liquidating surplus sugar stocks. “Due to our commitments to international organizations such as WTO, these subsidies will not be permissible after December 2023,” he pointed out.
As a solution to this problem, Gadkari suggested that the excess sugar stocks can be diverted towards producing ethanol by adding 15-20 per cent sugar into B-Heavy Molasses. “This will have multiple benefits — firstly, it will utilise an excess stock of around 45 to 60 lakh metric tons of sugar and will improve the ethanol recovery by 30 per cent due to better quality of raw material,” he said.
Stressing on the need to discourage the use of petrol or diesel as a fuel, he said the focus should be on the adoption of alternative fuels which will be import substitute, cost-effective, pollution-free and indigenous. “To make this possible, I am giving a special push for ethanol as fuel. The biggest benefit is that it is a clean fuel with very low greenhouse gas emissions,” the minister said.
The additional income that is generated is directly diverted to the farmers, which empowers the rural and backward economy. “Ethanol can be the tool to empower our rural and backward areas where we can increase employment and bring prosperity into the lives of our farmers,” he observed.
Gadkari highlighted that India started its programme for ethanol blending with petrol in 2003 but made it mandatory at 5 per cent in 2007. The government brought the fixed ethanol procurement pricing policy from December 2014. From around 1 per cent blending in 2014, the country has achieved 5 per cent ethanol blending with petrol in the next 5 years. From 2018 onwards, Gadkari said the government has been fixing multiple prices for ethanol, based on the feedstock used to produce ethanol.
This encouraged diversion of B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice into the production of ethanol, he added. “Now, we have allowed the use of grains like corn, surplus rice, damaged food grains, sweet sorghum, bajra, jawar for the production of ethanol,” he said.
Looking at the ethanol production capacity and its adoptability as a fuel, Gadkari said the government has redesigned and launched the E-20 fuel programme which will ensure the use of bio-ethanol in 20 per cent blend with petrol by 2025 in India. To achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending, the country will require around 10 billion litres of ethanol by 2025. At present, the sugar industry contributes to 90 per cent of ethanol demand as a blended fuel in the country. To increase ethanol production with available resources, Gadkari suggested to add 15-20 per cent sugar into B-Heavy Molasses.
“For the pricing, the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice or syrup has been facing some problems. The same pricing of approx. Rs 62/litre can be considered as an incentive for sugar millers to divert their excess sugar stocks into B-Heavy Molasses,” he said.
Gadkari also spoke about the need to discouraging production of C-Heavy Molasses from sugar. “This will standardise the production of B-Heavy Molasses and will permanently lead to lesser production of sugar by 1.5 per cent per metric tonne of sugarcane,” he said, adding that these steps could boost ethanol output.
The minister pointed out that the country’s import dependence on petroleum is expected to go up to the tune of Rs 15 lakh crore in the next 5 years. “Increased availability of ethanol will directly help in introduction of flex engines, which we will soon introduced in India,” he said. Gadkari said the incentives provided to sugar mills have been extended to the grain-based ethanol distilleries since January 2021.
“The target is to get around 4 billion litres of ethanol production from grain-based distilleries,” he said. Gadkari said that with 100 per cent use of a 20 per cent blend of bio-ethanol, the country will be able to save Rs 30,000 crore on import of fossil fuels.
“We are planning to introduce flex-fuel vehicles soon which allow the operation of the vehicles on 100 per cent bio-ethanol or 100 per cent petrol,” he added. Gadkari said the government of India is seriously working on how to increase the use of ethanol in transport sector. The Prime Minister has recently launched three 100 per cent ethanol pumps and the petroleum ministry is now promoting the setting up of dispensing units by private entities.
“Currently, the ethanol economy is Rs 20,000 crore which I am targeting to raise to Rs 2 lakh crore,” he said.
Gadkari emphasised on conducting research on how to successfully blend ethanol with diesel. The minister said that bio-ethanol can also be a sustainable fuel for aviation purpose.
Besides ethanol, he said the government is promoting the use of clean and green alternative fuels such as Methanol, Bio-diesel, Bio-CNG, LNG, H-CNG, Electricity, and Hydrogen fuel cell in addition to ethanol.
Govt promoting ethanol production in a big way, Nitin Gadkari says
‘India can go for 50% ethanol blending in aviation fuel’
Our Bureau
Pune | Updated on October 13, 2021
Flex-fuel vehicles will hit the roads once SC gives the nod, says Gadkari.
India can start using 50 per cent ethanol in aviation fuel, and the Indian government will soon start discussions and trials on this, said Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways.
He added that flex-fuel vehicles will be on roads once the Supreme Court gives the permission. He was addressing a question-and-answer session at a webinar on alternative fuel organised by the Indian Sugar Mill Association (ISMA).
He said the government will seek the help of Brazilian authorities to start the programme of blending ethanol in aviation fuel. Gadkari said that Brazil, under its Air Force programme, is adding 50 per cent ethanol in aviation fuel and India will communicate with the authorities of the concerned department.
“I will call the meeting (to discuss this). If it is allowed in Brazil, why not in India ? Using 50 per cent ethanol in aviation fuel can also increase the demand for ethanol,” he said.
Gadkari asked ISMA to find out the details of Brazil’s Air Force programme and said that India could start trials and adopt this policy. He added that he would meet the Air Force Chief to discuss this issue.
Flex-fuel vehicles
When asked when flex-fuel vehicles would hit the roads, the Minister said: “We can run vehicles, including autos on 100 per cent ethanol and increase the demand. Even for cars BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, all brands can make flex engine so that in place of 100 per cent per petrol they could use ethanol.”
In his inaugural address Gadkari said: “ Currently, the ethanol economy is ₹20,000 crore, which I am targeting to raise to ₹2-lakh crore.
As per the study conducted by Indian Oil Corporation, the existing vehicles running on Indian roads currently can take up to 13 per cent ethanol-blended petrol without any modification in the engine and any loss in its efficiency.”
The Minister added: “Accordingly, the government has fixed BIS standards for E12 and E15, which will be slowly rolled out over the next couple of years to move from the 10 per cent blending expected to be achieved in 2022 to 20 per cent blending by 2025.”
‘India can go for 50% ethanol blending in aviation fuel’
By PTI | October 12, 2021 6:46 PM
"We are planning to introduce flex-fuel vehicles soon which allow the operation of the vehicles on 100 per cent bio-ethanol or 100 per cent petrol," he added.
Gadkari emphasised on conducting research on how to successfully blend ethanol with diesel. (File photo)
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday stressed on the need to divert excess sugar stock for ethanol manufacturing as provision of subsidies on exports of sweetener will not be permissable after December 2023 under the WTO regime.
Addressing a webinar on alternative fuels organised by industry body ISMA, the minister said the government is promoting ethanol manufacturing in a big way and assured that it will procure all ethanol produced in the country.
With increased supply of ethanol, Gadkari said the government plans to introduce flex fuel engine vehicles in the country. With the rollout of flex-fuel vehicles on 100 per cent bio-ethanol, the demand for ethanol will immediately jump by 4 to 5 times, he added. The minister also asked sugar mills to set up their own ethanol pumps, which are being permitted by the government.
“It is under our purview that we can take the decision for making mandatory flex engine for the petrol vehicles. So, that can increase the demand of ethanol in Indian market,” Gadkari said. Stating that the government is giving permission for the ethanol pump, the minister told sugar mills that they can establish their own pumps. “Now there is a policy and my own sugar factory, also my son has taken the permission,” he added.
Gadkari said the government is providing export subsidy to the tune of Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 crore to sugar mills for liquidating surplus sugar stocks. “Due to our commitments to international organizations such as WTO, these subsidies will not be permissible after December 2023,” he pointed out.
As a solution to this problem, Gadkari suggested that the excess sugar stocks can be diverted towards producing ethanol by adding 15-20 per cent sugar into B-Heavy Molasses. “This will have multiple benefits — firstly, it will utilise an excess stock of around 45 to 60 lakh metric tons of sugar and will improve the ethanol recovery by 30 per cent due to better quality of raw material,” he said.
Stressing on the need to discourage the use of petrol or diesel as a fuel, he said the focus should be on the adoption of alternative fuels which will be import substitute, cost-effective, pollution-free and indigenous. “To make this possible, I am giving a special push for ethanol as fuel. The biggest benefit is that it is a clean fuel with very low greenhouse gas emissions,” the minister said.
The additional income that is generated is directly diverted to the farmers, which empowers the rural and backward economy. “Ethanol can be the tool to empower our rural and backward areas where we can increase employment and bring prosperity into the lives of our farmers,” he observed.
Gadkari highlighted that India started its programme for ethanol blending with petrol in 2003 but made it mandatory at 5 per cent in 2007. The government brought the fixed ethanol procurement pricing policy from December 2014. From around 1 per cent blending in 2014, the country has achieved 5 per cent ethanol blending with petrol in the next 5 years. From 2018 onwards, Gadkari said the government has been fixing multiple prices for ethanol, based on the feedstock used to produce ethanol.
This encouraged diversion of B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice into the production of ethanol, he added. “Now, we have allowed the use of grains like corn, surplus rice, damaged food grains, sweet sorghum, bajra, jawar for the production of ethanol,” he said.
Looking at the ethanol production capacity and its adoptability as a fuel, Gadkari said the government has redesigned and launched the E-20 fuel programme which will ensure the use of bio-ethanol in 20 per cent blend with petrol by 2025 in India. To achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending, the country will require around 10 billion litres of ethanol by 2025. At present, the sugar industry contributes to 90 per cent of ethanol demand as a blended fuel in the country. To increase ethanol production with available resources, Gadkari suggested to add 15-20 per cent sugar into B-Heavy Molasses.
“For the pricing, the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice or syrup has been facing some problems. The same pricing of approx. Rs 62/litre can be considered as an incentive for sugar millers to divert their excess sugar stocks into B-Heavy Molasses,” he said.
Gadkari also spoke about the need to discouraging production of C-Heavy Molasses from sugar. “This will standardise the production of B-Heavy Molasses and will permanently lead to lesser production of sugar by 1.5 per cent per metric tonne of sugarcane,” he said, adding that these steps could boost ethanol output.
The minister pointed out that the country’s import dependence on petroleum is expected to go up to the tune of Rs 15 lakh crore in the next 5 years. “Increased availability of ethanol will directly help in introduction of flex engines, which we will soon introduced in India,” he said. Gadkari said the incentives provided to sugar mills have been extended to the grain-based ethanol distilleries since January 2021.
“The target is to get around 4 billion litres of ethanol production from grain-based distilleries,” he said. Gadkari said that with 100 per cent use of a 20 per cent blend of bio-ethanol, the country will be able to save Rs 30,000 crore on import of fossil fuels.
“We are planning to introduce flex-fuel vehicles soon which allow the operation of the vehicles on 100 per cent bio-ethanol or 100 per cent petrol,” he added. Gadkari said the government of India is seriously working on how to increase the use of ethanol in transport sector. The Prime Minister has recently launched three 100 per cent ethanol pumps and the petroleum ministry is now promoting the setting up of dispensing units by private entities.
“Currently, the ethanol economy is Rs 20,000 crore which I am targeting to raise to Rs 2 lakh crore,” he said.
Gadkari emphasised on conducting research on how to successfully blend ethanol with diesel. The minister said that bio-ethanol can also be a sustainable fuel for aviation purpose.
Besides ethanol, he said the government is promoting the use of clean and green alternative fuels such as Methanol, Bio-diesel, Bio-CNG, LNG, H-CNG, Electricity, and Hydrogen fuel cell in addition to ethanol.
Govt promoting ethanol production in a big way, Nitin Gadkari says
‘India can go for 50% ethanol blending in aviation fuel’
Our Bureau
Pune | Updated on October 13, 2021
Flex-fuel vehicles will hit the roads once SC gives the nod, says Gadkari.
India can start using 50 per cent ethanol in aviation fuel, and the Indian government will soon start discussions and trials on this, said Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways.
He added that flex-fuel vehicles will be on roads once the Supreme Court gives the permission. He was addressing a question-and-answer session at a webinar on alternative fuel organised by the Indian Sugar Mill Association (ISMA).
He said the government will seek the help of Brazilian authorities to start the programme of blending ethanol in aviation fuel. Gadkari said that Brazil, under its Air Force programme, is adding 50 per cent ethanol in aviation fuel and India will communicate with the authorities of the concerned department.
“I will call the meeting (to discuss this). If it is allowed in Brazil, why not in India ? Using 50 per cent ethanol in aviation fuel can also increase the demand for ethanol,” he said.
Gadkari asked ISMA to find out the details of Brazil’s Air Force programme and said that India could start trials and adopt this policy. He added that he would meet the Air Force Chief to discuss this issue.
Flex-fuel vehicles
When asked when flex-fuel vehicles would hit the roads, the Minister said: “We can run vehicles, including autos on 100 per cent ethanol and increase the demand. Even for cars BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, all brands can make flex engine so that in place of 100 per cent per petrol they could use ethanol.”
In his inaugural address Gadkari said: “ Currently, the ethanol economy is ₹20,000 crore, which I am targeting to raise to ₹2-lakh crore.
As per the study conducted by Indian Oil Corporation, the existing vehicles running on Indian roads currently can take up to 13 per cent ethanol-blended petrol without any modification in the engine and any loss in its efficiency.”
The Minister added: “Accordingly, the government has fixed BIS standards for E12 and E15, which will be slowly rolled out over the next couple of years to move from the 10 per cent blending expected to be achieved in 2022 to 20 per cent blending by 2025.”
‘India can go for 50% ethanol blending in aviation fuel’
India's poised to grow like it did in 2003-10, says Jefferies
India's economic growth averaged 8.5% to 9% between 2003 and 2010, up from the 5.5%-to-6% average before that. It said the risk appetite of banks is set to increase as bad loans have fallen - just as they did in 2003-04.
India's poised to grow like it did in 2003-10, says Jefferies
India's economic growth averaged 8.5% to 9% between 2003 and 2010, up from the 5.5%-to-6% average before that. It said the risk appetite of banks is set to increase as bad loans have fallen - just as they did in 2003-04.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Do you think it's actually possible to surpass 8% over the coming decade?
It is possible.
Whether it is likely needs investment rate to hit 35% of GDP consistently.
GDP and GDP growth actually are not key numbers anyway as there is whole lot inflation that finds its way there, on purpose or by accident.
This makes investment, trade, brainpower, direct consumption proven numbers all the more important for India to focus upon...as they speak for themselves.....and better GDP "range" comes by itself when you unlock more of those.
India's sugar exports touch 5.11 mn tonnes so far this year: AISTA
Sugar mills have exported 5.11 million tonnes of the sweetener so far in the ongoing 2020-21 marketing year ending September, with maximum shipments to Indonesia, trade body AISTA said on Thursdaywww.business-standard.com
I would always love to see more export of manufacturing over services and agricultural over manufacturing. The simple reason being the money reaching to bottom level of income pyramid. More export of agriculture products will lead to income in the hands of the class whose needs are still not met. Whatever they earn will be spent by them which will generate huge demand. If uper middle class warns something, it will go into savings. It will always be good for economy if money goes into the hands of people who spend it.
This will have a great impact in terms of reducing logistic cost, improvement in government revenue in terms of tax collection, toll collection etc. India's toll revenue is likely to surpass Rs 1 lakh crore. If government plants timber trees along the side of highways, It can generate mind boggling revenue in 10 to 12 years. Government is planning to plant 20 lakh trees along side new Delhi- Bombay highway. Imagine the revenue after 12 years if teakwood trees, mahogany trees or milia dubia trees are planted.
It has been just announced. Its effect shall be visible after 2 years when many news projects which are in pipeline will become operational.
As per Rakesh JunJun Wala, Nifty will cross 1 lakh in next 10 years. In today's scenario, I see equity and mutual funds as the best investment for atleat a decade to come.
India's poised to grow like it did in 2003-10, says Jefferies
India's economic growth averaged 8.5% to 9% between 2003 and 2010, up from the 5.5%-to-6% average before that. It said the risk appetite of banks is set to increase as bad loans have fallen - just as they did in 2003-04.
It will be more than that because India is all set to be a big player in electronics and electronic components manufacturing as well.
I'll believe it when I see it. I grow resigned to number of buses India quite deliberately missed in past...recent past included.
India is still stuck in internal politics/mobs mode too much. More of it is catching up and weighs some things down as time passes and bunch of failures in rearview accumulate and others in world charge ahead respectively.
While these are flights of fancy for those in the 1% that can afford it to begin with....it takes a huge toll on 99% under them when it permeates and entrenches there.
Doing or having this 2 or 3 times somewhat "less" than some lost-cause neighbours does not cut it in the end for our size, heritage and destiny.
Our 99% need to have as less mental burden as possible and as much real opportunity as possible.
Politicians et al. need to understand this, not generate more of it. They can generate it easily later when we are in better position.
Some more in the tea leaves:
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This will be in many respects a do or die decade for India. It needs to really get its act together for it.
India is on the cusp of a virtuous cycle, says Morgan Stanley
India’s capex to gross domestic product ratio is expected to rise by six percentage points between FY21 and FY26
www.livemint.com
This will be in many respects a do or die decade for India. It needs to really get its act together for it.
India's External Debt
Internal in terms of INR
Forex reserves and its breakup
Forex reserves and its breakup
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