Biodiesel Procurement In India Increased 408% In Last 7 Years 

The latest data furnished by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri revealed that the procurement of biodiesel by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) witnessed a sharp rise in the last seven years. The data revealed that the procurement increased around 408 percent during the period.

The ministry data said that in 2015-16 the total procurement of biodiesel by OMCs stood at 1.19 crore litres whereas it touched up to 6.05 crore litres in 2022-23, witnessing a 408 percent increment. The minister said that in 2023-24 from April to June, India witnessed procurement of around 11.57 crore litres of biodiesel alone. 

The government has meanwhile planned to achieve 5 percent blending of biodiesel with diesel by 2030. The minister indicated the incremental progress in India’s biodiesel procurement with an average growth of 3.67 percent growth in nine years from the OMCs. 

The data was shared in a reply to the parliament on the implementation of the biodiesel policy. In his reply, he elaborated on the challenges such as long gestation period, poor yield, and the use of oil for procuring such as i.e., Palm Stearin Oil, Used Cooking Oil (UCO), and negligible quantities from TBOs, preventing its growth. He further elaborated on the importance of using biodiesel for promoting energy security, by developing an alternative source of energy

For biofuel blending, the government launched policies such as the National Biofuel Policy 2018, to boost the availability of biofuels in the country and the use of alternative clean fuels like ethanol, bio-diesel, and bio-CNG. The schemes for Ethanol Blending include provision for Biodiesel blending and Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation, Ethanol blending in Petrol during the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY). 

As per the government policies, various initiatives are already underway such as the National Policy on Biofuels 2018 (NPB) in June 2018. This policy has laid out an indicative target of achieving a 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel / direct sale of biodiesel in the country by 2030. This report is conclusive of the government’s initiative to boost the availability of biofuels in the country and incentivise the use of alternative clean fuels like ethanol, bio-diesel, and bio-CNG through schemes for Ethanol Blending, Biodiesel blending, and Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation.