On February 12, 2021, Union Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) launched India’s first-ever diesel tractor converted Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tractor which was co-developed by Thane, Maharashtra based Rawmatt Techno Solutions and Tomasetto Achille India as a pilot project.
- It was launched in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG); Minister of State (MoS) Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) and MoS General (Retd) Dr Vijay Kumar Singh, MoRTH.
- 5000 CBG (Compressed Bio Gas) plants will be set up under the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) programme.
Benefit of Conversion:
–This conversion will aid in saving more than one lakh rupees annually on fuel costs, which will improve the livelihood of farmers. It will also create job opportunities in rural India.
— Stubble (Parali) can be used as a raw material for producing Bio-CNG as a part of the Waste to Wealth Movement which will again help the farmers to earn more.
–Being a clean fuel, it has minimal content of carbon and other pollutants.Overall emissions are reduced by 70% as compared to Diesel.
–It is economical in nature as it requires less regular maintenance. Also it has zero lead and is non-corrosive, non-dilutive and non-contaminating which helps in increasing the life of the engine.
–Its price is cheaper and consistent as compared to fluctuating Petrol prices
–It provides better average mileage than Diesel/Petrol driven vehicles.
–As CNG tanks come with a tight seal, therefore, reduces the possibility of explosion while refuelling.
–At present around 12 million vehicles are already powered by natural gas throughout the world and more companies & municipalities are joining the CNG movement every day.
Additional Info:
–India is the 3rd largest energy consumer in the world but per capita consumption is only one-third of the global average.
–It is expected that the supply of Piped Natural gas (PNG) and CNG will reach 85-90% of the population in a few years.
–8.5% ethanol blending in petrol has been achieved and soon India will be number one country in ethanol blending.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 20, 2020 Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) virtually laid the foundation stone for India’s first Multi-modal Logistic Park(MMLP) at Jogighopa in Assam.
ii.On January 18, 2021 Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) virtually launched YES Bank’s YES MSME. It is a comprehensive proposition to strengthen MSMEs with speed and easy access to funds, knowledge partnerships and digital solutions.
About Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH):
Nitin Gadkari Constituency– Nagpur, Maharashtra
Headquarter– New Delhi
