Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday proposed an innovative idea to reduce the price of petrol to ₹15 per litre. Addressing a gathering in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh, Gadkari advocated for the combination of ethanol and electricity to bring down the rate of petrol. The Union minister of Road Transport and Highways claimed that a blend of 60% ethanol and 40% electricity could reduce the petrol price sharply.
“If an average of 60% ethanol and 40% electricity is taken then petrol will be available at the rate of ₹15 per litre and the people will be benefitted. Pollution and import will reduce. The import is of ₹16 lakh crore, this money will go to the homes of farmers instead,” Gadkari said.
Gadkari further shared his vision of empowering farmers across the nation and emphasised that the government aims to transform the farmers into both "annadata" and "urjadata".
{{/usCountry}}Gadkari further shared his vision of empowering farmers across the nation and emphasised that the government aims to transform the farmers into both "annadata" and "urjadata".
{{/usCountry}}Gadkari was in Rajasthan to launch, as well as commence the construction of, 11 national highway projects in Pratapgarh, worth ₹5600 crore. Among them, four national highway projects spanning 219 km and costing ₹3,775 crore were officially inaugurated.
Nitin Gadkari has consistently emphasised the necessity of transitioning from hydrocarbon fuels to ethanol-blended ones. He also outlined the government's efforts to incorporate ethanol into agricultural and construction machinery.
In accordance with the revised National Policy on Biofuels (2018) and Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, India aims to achieve a blending rate of 20% ethanol in petrol by 2025-26.
As of June 2022, the country had already achieved an average ethanol blend rate of 10% in petrol, as reported by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.