Modi Govt committed to 20% ethanol blending target by 2025: Hardeep Singh Puri

The Modi Government is back for an uninterrupted third term and Hardeep Singh Puri has been reappointed as the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas taking charge of his office. Puri reaffirmed the government’s strong commitment to achieving a 20 percent ethanol blending target in fuel by 2025. He highlighted the significant milestone reached in May, when the country surpassed 15 percent ethanol blending.

“The Prime Minister had originally set a target of 20 percent blending by 2030. Based on our current progress and ongoing work, I am confident that we will achieve the 20 percent blending target by 2025, which was brought forward from 2030,” stated Puri.

Puri emphasized India’s effective management of the energy trilemma—ensuring energy availability, affordability, and sustainability—during a period when other countries, including developed ones, faced energy rationing, fuel shortages, and soaring prices. He noted that India is possibly the only country where fuel prices have decreased over the past two and a half years.

The minister also highlighted the significant increase in LPG connections, from 14 crores in 2014, with only 55 percent of the population having access, to 32 crores now, attributing this success to the Ujjwala scheme.

In terms of exploration and production, Puri announced that oil production from the 98/2 well will soon increase to 45,000 barrels per day, with gas production also set to commence shortly.

Integrating green hydrogen into the refining process is another area of focus, with upcoming green hydrogen plants set to be installed at refineries in Panipat, Mathura, and Paradeep. Puri also mentioned the commissioning of the first green hydrogen plant last month and the establishment of a green hydrogen station at Kochi for buses serving the Kochi Airport.