New Delhi (NVI): Government on October 21 said energy is increasingly an important component of Indo-American bilateral trade and urged the US to become a partner in India’s bio-fuel revolution.
“Our crude oil import from USA was almost nil in 2014. Now, the total import of petroleum products from USA including LNG in 2018-19 stood at over 7 billion dollars, and is likely to go up further this year,” Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has said.
He was speaking at the 2nd Annual India Leadership Summit of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum with former ambassador of US to India Tim Roemer here, an official statement said.
He said that India had set an ambitious target of producing 175 GW energy through renewable energy sources which has been further enhanced to 450 GW.
Dwelling upon the issues of ethanol and bio-energy, he said, “from less than 1% ethanol blending in 2015, we have increased our EBP to 6%. We are working to push up the percentage even further. Bioenergy is also being pushed in a big way with Govt’s focus on ways to monetise the 600MT of non-fossilised biomass available in the country.” He said that 10 billion dollars investment is to be made in setting up ethanol plants in the country.
While sharing his views on “India’s Role in Geo-politics of Energy”, Pradhan said “Today, India is the hotspot in energy investment destination in the world. Policy reforms introduced by the Government under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have further simplified doing business in India. I invite all energy players to bring their technology & investment here & become a part of India’s growth story.”
He said that the Country has moved to open, transparent, process-driven policy atmosphere, and all are welcome to invest. The investing Companies must bring technology, capital and good business models to India.
Speaking about India’s efforts towards decarbonisation, he said, “Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India is expanding its footprints in carbon-free energy, including renewables and bio-energy. Technology and innovation can become game changers for India’s quest for decarbonising and developing into a gas-based economy for a cleaner & sustainable energy future.”
-sb
