Government of India
Ministry of Rural Development
Department of Land Resources
New Delhi:India

Bio Diesel

         The objectives of the programmes is to bring unutilzed wasteland in to productive use by promotion of Jatropha and Pongamia Plantation for 20% blending with HSD and also generating a renewable source of Bio-fuel, thereby reduce  country’s dependence on imported petroleum diesel. Now the Department is contemplating a study to assess the Plantation work  already carried out in the country so that the Department can go back to the Cabinet with clear findings about taking up demonstration phase of the programme.

          National Mission on Bio-Diesel :- The Committee on Development of Bio-fuels set-up by the Planning Commission in July, 2002, in its report of April, 2003, recommended launching of the National Commission on Bio-diesel. Ministry of Rural development was designated as the Nodal Ministry for this Mission. As a fallow-up, Detailed Project Report (DPR) Prepared by the Energy Research Institute (TERI) New Delhi and submitted to Planning Commission. The planning commission accorded “in principal approval” to the Bio-Diesel Project on 23.12.05.

The proposal for establishment of National Mission of Bio-Diesel in Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, with the approval of EFC meeting on 9.10.2006, was placed before the Cabinet Committee on Economics Affairs (CCEA). CCEA referred the matter to a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Agricultural Minister. Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNE) was made the Nodal Ministry for GoM. The GoM  met on 24.2.09  and gave in principle conditional approval for the establishment of a National Mission on Bio-Diesel in DoLR.

          The GoM recommendations were submitted to the Cabinet by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE). The Cabinet gave “in principle” conditional  approval to the Programme to take up 3 lakh ha. plantations of bio-diesel producing, non-edible oilseeds species (Jatropha and Pongamia) on degraded forest land and waste land, i.e.   approval subject to receipt of positive feedback of the assessment of the plantations work already carried out in the country. Accordingly, the department has assigned a study to TERI to access the plantations already carried out in the country.