On December 7, 2020 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $2.5 million (about Rs 18 crore) Technical Assistance(TA) to support advanced biofuel development in India. This grant is funded from the Asia Clean Energy Fund, financed by the Government of Japan under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, and the Republic of Korea’s e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund.
Objective of TA
To Help Improve Advanced Biofuel Production in India
Need of TA
To help address the technical and financial barriers that discourage the commercial production of biofuels and prepare for advanced biofuels’ commercial application and large-scale production.
ADB Supports National Policy on Biofuels
i.With this commitment, ADB supports the National Policy on Biofuels of Government of India, which was established in 2018.
ii.This is to promote the advanced biofuel market that will tackle waste, reinforce energy independence, create new industries and jobs, and mitigate global warming
ADB’s Collaboration to Enhance Advanced Biofuel Investments
i.As part of the approval, ADB to enhance the advanced biofuel investments, will collaborate with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoPNG), the Oil Industry Development Board, and public financial institutions, like Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd(IREDA) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD).
ii.ADB will also work with public oil companies, including the Indian Oil Corporation Limited(IOCL) and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited(HPCL).
About TA:
i.It will take a cross-sector approach to deal with various issues like energy security, transport mobility, agribusiness, financial stability, air and water pollution, waste disposal, public health, climate change, and the urban–rural divide.
ii.In order to demonstrate the best practices for suitable feedstock, efficient conversion technology, and sustainable biofuel value chain, TA will support the development of advanced bioethanol, bio-compressed natural gas, and biodiesel plants.
iii.TA, in order to promote empowerment of rural women in agriculture, will support to incorporate gender mainstreaming design in the feedstock value chain
About Advanced Biofuels:
Advanced Biofuels can be produced using Novel Technology
Advanced (or second-generation) biofuels can be produced from non-edible sources like agricultural residue, municipal solid waste, and used cooking oil, using the novel technology.
Benefits
- They can be used as bioethanol, biogas, and biodiesel for energy, transport, manufacturing, and medical purposes.
- This renewable energy minimises the net greenhouse gas emission without posing threat to food security.
- The advanced biofuels has the potential to provide simultaneous solutions to address energy security, waste recycling, climate change, and air pollution reduction.
- The effective collection and sales of agricultural waste as feedstock for biofuels, will add to the income of rural farmers and will also stop the need to burn crop waste.
Note– India has a huge amount of waste, but crop burning causes severe air pollution.
Gist about National Policy on Biofuels:
- It was introduced in 2009.
- The main objective of the policy is to take forward the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE)’s target to achieve 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030.
Recent Related News:
i.On November 20, 2020 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $50 million (about Rs 370 crore)policy- based loan to help boost West Bengal’s Digital Platforms for Public Finance Reforms.
ii.On 28th September 2020, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement to invest 15 million USD (Rs.109.9 crore) in Avaada Energy Private Limited(AEPL) to support the company to scale the photovoltaic solar energy generation capacity in India.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Headquarters– Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Membership– 68 countries(Including India)
Formed– 1966
