Cabinet approves amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018

The Union Cabinet has approved the Amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018. The ‘National Policy on Biofuels, 2018’ was notified by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 04.06.2018 in supersession of National Policy on Biofuels, promulgated through the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, in 2009.

Key amendments:

1. to allow more feedstocks for production of biofuels;
2. to advance the ethanol blending target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol to ESY 2025-26 from 2030;
3. to promote the production of biofuels in the country, under the Make in India program, by units located in Special Economic Zones (SEZ)/ Export Oriented Units (EoUs);
4. to add new members to the NBCC;
5. to grant permission for export of biofuels in specific cases; and
6. to delete/amend certain phrases in the Policy in line with decisions taken during the meetings of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.