World Biofuel Day is annually observed across the globe on 10th August to create awareness about the importance and significance of non-fossil fuels as a substitute for conventional fossil fuels.
Biofuels are renewable, biodegradable and sustainable sources of energy that can reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and promote clean energy.
World Biofuel Day in India:
i.World Biofuel Day has been observed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoPNG), Government of India since 2015.
ii.The day highlights the endeavours of the government in the biofuel sector.
iii.The oil and gas companies under the aegis of MoPNG, celebrate World Biofuel day with the theme “Biofuels for Sustainability and Rural Income”.
Background:
i.The World Biofuel day honours Sir Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, who successfully operated the mechanical engine with peanut oil on 9th August 1893.
ii.With that invention, Rudolf was able to predict the possibility of replacing the crude oil with vegetable oil.
What is biofuel?
i.Biofuel is a type of renewable energy source derived from microbial, plant, or animal materials.
ii.It is a cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel.
iii.The most common types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel, which represents the first generation of biofuel technology.
Efforts of Government of India:
India’s National Policy on Biofuels aims to ensure that the minimum level of biofuels become readily available in the market to meet the demand at any given time.
The ministry of new and renewable energy has set a target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel to be achieved by 2030.
The government of India plans to launch vehicles running on 20% ethanol blended petrol by 2025.
About Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoPNG):
Union Minister– Hardeep Singh Puri (Rajya Sabha – Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State– Rameswar Teli (Constituency- Dibrugarh, Assam)
