Addressing the International Conclave on Clean Fuels-2022 on Wednesday, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari stated that digitisation and connected technology will benefit the mobility ecosystem in India plenty while making a remark on how smartphones will be all people need for public transport tickets. He added that electrification and connected technology should lead to a reduction in public transport costs by 25-30 percent.
During his address, the minister focussed on India’s need to take urgent steps toward curbing air pollution and how the electrification of vehicles and alternative fuels will play a big role in the process.
The statement comes at a time when the air quality in Delhi has started to plummet to its worst level due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of the national capital.
“For ecology and environment also we need to resolve pollution as it is a big problem,” the minister said, expressing concerns about the deteriorating air quality in Delhi and stressing on converting the stubble into bio-vitamin.
The minister also said that in the country, there are several successful projects, and Bio-CNG and Bio-LNG are being made from rice straw. He also said there is an immediate need to decarbonise the transport sector and make it sustainable for the economy, ecology and environment.
“We are promoting the use of clean and green biofuel such as ethanol, methanol, bio-CNG, bio-LNG, bio-diesel, and green hydrogen and electricity also,” he explained, adding that clean fuels have multiple benefits including lower oil import bills, energy security, and decline in air pollution.
The minister pointed out that now that manufacturers are rolling out flex engine products, the rise in their use and demand would mean ethanol production would have to be boosted.
Gadkari elaborates that India has a surplus of sugar production. The country can not only fulfill its own ethanol demand but also export to international markets.
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