Question

The new Biofuel Policy, announced by the Government of India on 10th August, 2018, focuses on

• A. Promoting the use of petrol and diesel in transportation
• B. Encouraging the use of biomass to improve ethanol availability
• C. Limiting ethanol production and reducing biodiesel blending
• D. Promoting imported fuels for industrial energy consumption

Hint:

Biofuel Policy goals revolve around the 3 Es: Energy security, Environmental preservation, and Economic empowerment of rural farmers through the conversions of agricultural waste (biomass) to fuel.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Background of the National Policy on Biofuels (2018):
The Government of India approved the National Policy on Biofuels in 2018 to reduce import dependency on crude oil, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and boost rural incomes by utilizing domestic feedstocks.

Step 2: Core Focus Areas of the Policy:
A primary objective of the policy is to expand the scope of raw materials (biomass) allowed for ethanol production. It permitted the use of sugarcane juice, sugar-containing materials (like sugar beet, sweet sorghum), starch-containing materials (like corn, cassava), and damaged food grains (such as broken rice, wheat unfit for human consumption) to significantly scale up the domestic production of biofuels.

Step 3: Verification of Options:

• (A) and (D) run counter to the policy's primary objective of self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) and reducing fossil fuel dependency.
• (C) represents a reduction in biofuel blending, which contradicts the target to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol and 5% biodiesel blending in diesel.
• Thus, (B) is the correct policy focus.