Govt working to reduce prices of ethanol for vehicles: Nitin Gadkari
The government plans to lower retail ethanol prices for flex-fuel vehicles to boost alternative energy adoption. Minister Nitin Gadkari proposed aligning ethanol prices with government procurement rates, keeping a modest profit margin. He suggested easing licensing for ethanol pumps and highlighted automakers’ readiness for ethanol-compatible vehicles. India also aims to reduce lithium imports with its new reserves.
The government is working on a plan to drastically bring down retail prices of ethanol for use as fuel in vehicles with flex engines to promote use of alternate energy in transportation.
A meeting will be held after assembly elections in Delhi with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and other stakeholders to discuss ways to reduce the retail cost of ethanol for vehicles, minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said at the Sugar-Ethanol and Bio Energy India Conference. Flex fuel engines can run on 100% ethanol and do need need to be mixed with any other fuel.
Earlier, the ethanol that was to be sold in retail for use in vehicles was priced at Rs 110 a litre. The government, however, pays Rs 60 to Rs 65 a litre for ethanol that oil marketing companies buy from sugar mills for blending with petrol and diesel.
“I have said that ethanol as fuel should be sold in retail around prices which the government pays for use in blending with petrol and diesel. The hovernment can keep a reasonable profit of Rs 4-5 a litre. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) decided to set up 400 ethanol pumps. They kept the ethanol price at Rs 110 a litre. There was no difference with petrol price,” Gadkari said.
The minister said nine companies including Tata, Mahindra Hyundai, Toyota, Suzuki have made cars and Hero, TVS, Bajaj, Honda and many others have made two-wheelers that can run on 100% bio ethanol.
He said to keep the costs of ethanol down companies producing them should be given licenses to operate 5-6 such pumps in the areas they operate without furnishing any bank guarantee which petrol and diesel petrol pumps have to submit. He said for traditional fuels every pump has to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 20 crore which many sugar mills could not afford.
The minister also said that the government would come out with a policy that will ensure that in coming years India would not have to import from China and Argentina lithium – a key component of electric vehicle batteries.
The recent lithium finds in Jammu region has taken India’s lithium reserves to 6% of the total world reserves.
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Source : Financial Express
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