biofuels in india prospects and problems

8/6/2019 BIOFUELS in INDIA Prospects and Problems

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BIOFUELS IN INDIA Prospects and Problems

"Biofuels does not have relevance in Indian context in view of land limitation and food

security."

- Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Forest and Environment

The biofuels had once again been dragged into the unnecessary dilemma of choosing between food

security and energy security for India. The recent views expressed by the UnionForest and

Environment Minister had once again provoked the died out debate on the utility and relevance of

biofuels in India. The expression is absolutely on reverse track from the official line which had been

pushing for a 20 per cent blend of biofuels in gasoline and diesel by 2017. In fact there has been lot

of efforts and resources been utilized on biofuels research and now a strange statement came up

against the development.

Though in general the panic amongst the people regarding exploration of Biofuels as viable option for

non-fossil fuel energy source is not really obscure as the global recession that had hit the world in

the recent times was been linked to the US obsession for diverting the food bowls of it for the

biofuel production at the cost of food crops. US President had declared the aim of American Govt. to

produce 160 Billion liter of biofuel by 2017. Even the staple food crop of the nation, that is, maize

was grind and crushed to produce bioethanol and used to run automobiles there. Similar practice

was followed by the other nations of the region that resulted in huge spur of food prices round the

world and consequently fueled the inflation. The ultimate result was severe food security problems in

all parts of the world, the worst hit of which were, of course, the poor African and Asian nations.

Biofuel development and utilization has a number of socio-economic implications on a nation and on

its various tangible and intangible resources. In this era of mounting oil prices (both in monetary and

environmental terms) and combating Global Warming, quenching out all possible options for sake of

cleaner energy has been becoming increasingly inevitable with all rationality intact. For this to take

place, a closer look is needed over the geo-climatic conditions of Indiaand their correlation with the

food production and biofuel generation.

India being basically an agriculture based economy with large population to feed cannot afford to

carve out some of its cultivable land for biofuel crop production. And when around 27.5% of its

population has been dwelling below poverty line there is no possibility of grinding out bioethanol of

edible crops!

But strangely these facts can in no way hamper the relevance and significance of biofuels in the

Indian context. Going deeper into the issue and analyzing the real picture can do the job.

India & Jatropha:

India has two major inedible plant sources of biofuel which hold potentially good prospects,

areJatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata. Both of these plants are Xerophytic (adapted to arid

conditions) in nature and can be grown easily without competing with the food and the other cash

crops.

Out of these two,Jatropha curcas is a promising oil yield plant with presence of 30-35% of non-

edible oil content is seeds. It is easy to multiplicate rapidly by various vegetative propagation

methods like cutting and by seedlings. Research says that one hectare Jatropha plantation with 4000plants in rain fed condition, yield as out 4000 to 5000 kg of seeds. The Biodiesel so generated can be

used alone or mixed in any ratio with petrodiesel.

Talking in terms of efficiency and economic value, though the efficiency ofJatrophas biodiesel is 3%

less than that of usual Petrodiesel. But if, entire petrodiesel in India is blended with biodiesel with a

proportion of 50 ml/liter (that is in 5% blending), the country could be able to save Rs. 4000 crore

(4 Bn) every year. To get this 5% blend, India had to bring a total of 5 lakh hectares to be brought

under Jatropha cultivation.


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For taking into account the availability of this quantum of land in India, according to the data

provided by the Economic Survey conducted by GoI, around 175 million hectares of wasteland and

dryland is available in India, which is suitable for cultivation of plant like Jatropha &Pongamia.

Therefore, Biofuel farming is a boon to all dryland farmers to get more money from their farms and

wastelands, most of whom are marginal farmers of semi arid tropics.

Rich cultivation ofJatropha

Jatropha as a crop occurs on wild, bare lands and require little water to grow and flourish. It is best

suited for the arid and semi-arid areas. Poor shallow soil, little inputs, scanty rainfall dont hasten its

fast growth. Plant is not grazed by animals and it is highly pest & disease resistant. Moreover it is

well suited for quick greening of wasteland and thus is best for eco-rehabititation and bio-aesthetic

values.

The additional benefits linked to the cultivation are immense and are no less than its major

advantages. For instance, the leaves ofJ. cuscas are used to feed to rearing Eri silk worm to produce

high quality silk. The production of protein from the left over seed residue after extraction of oil can

be made into oil cakes which can be used as animal and fish feed. It also serves as good organic

manure for the farming. The leaf, bark & seed extracts of Jatropha holds the medical value. The

curcas oil that formed as the by-product of bioethanol is also used in soap industry, varnishes,

lubricant and candle preparation. Thus in this way biofuel cultivation is likely to give employment to

20 lakhs of rural people directly or indirectly by getting involved in various activities of extraction,

refinement and sale of the biofuel and its by-products.

ICRISAT (International Crop Research Centre for semi arid tropics) has been actively engaged in

research on biodiesel from Pongamia &Jatropha. It is not only linking the small and marginal

farmers to global biofuel revolution but also contributing its bit in ensuring energy, livelihood and

food security for them. Moreover, the research had claimed to bring down the use of fossil fuels,

while in long run it would help in mitigating climate change.

The rich prospects of biofuels have also been studied by the UNCTAD recently and had assessed

biofuels as an industry for India.

Assessment of Biofuel industry in India by UNCTAD

UNCTAD had estimated that the current manufacturing cost of ethanol and biodiesel in India is about

Rs. 21/litre ($0.46/litre), roughly the same as petrol and diesel. This puts biofuels in a favourable

position for meeting Indias energy needs, especially as the cost of petroleum is expected to continue

its upward trend. In India ethanol is produced by the fermentation of molasses a by-product of

sugar manufacture. India is the fourth largest ethanol producer after Brazil, the United

States and China, its average annual ethanol output amounts currently to 1,900 million litres with a

distillation capacity of 2,900 million litres per year. The government has formulated an ambitious

National Biodiesel Mission to meet 20 per cent of the countrys diesel requirements by 2011-2012.

The main problem in getting the biodiesel programme rolling has been the difficulty in initiating the

large-scale cultivation of Jatropha because farmers do not consider Jatropha cultivation rewarding

enough. The government needs to sponsor confidence-building measures such as establishing a

minimum support price for Jatropha oilseeds and assuring farmers of timely payments. In

conclusion, the biofuels industry is poised to make important contributions to meet Indias energyneeds by supplying clean, environmentally-friendly fuel.

This year, the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an Indian research group, launched a 10-year,

$9.4 million project to research issues involved in taking jatropha from seed to filling station. One

challenge is growing the plant in poor soil.

The first crops of jatropha, planted in what was wasteland, have now flowered, says Alok Adholeya,

director of TERI's Biotechnology and Management of Bioresources division. "It proves that we can do


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biofuels in india prospects and problems

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