The government is working on formulating a biofuel policy for encouraging its use in transport, which is a major factor for increasing air pollution in India, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Petroleum Ministry are working together to devise a biofuel policy which will have details on investment, government's role and incentives, Pradhan said at an event in New Delhi.
We have to import 80 percent petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene to meet the demands and the cost is approximately Rs 6 lakh crores. We have to reduce this percentage to 10 percent and produce biofuel in our own country.Dharmendra Pradhan, Oil Minister
In order to give a major push to the use of biofuel by the automobile industry, the minister said that the government is looking to bring Rs 1 lakh crore investment in biofuel within a year.
“The government proposes to encourage farmers in Bundelkhand, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha to plant vegetation so that the waste can be used as raw materials for production of biofuel,” added Pradhan.
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was also present at the event, said he has requested the finance ministry to bring down the Goods and Services Tax on biodiesel to 5 percent from 18 percent.
Earlier, the Biodiesel Association of India had raised concerns over the implementation of the GST. The body said that higher taxes would adversely impact the sector which is already hit by varied taxes.
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