THE NATIONAL BIOFUEL POLICY, 2018:

• The Policy categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G) bio ethanol & biodiesel and “Advanced Biofuels” – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category.
• The Policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of Sugarcane Juice, Sugar containing materials like Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Starch containing materials like Corn, Cassava, Damaged food grains like Wheat, Broken Rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human consumption for ethanol production.
• Farmers are at a risk of not getting appropriate price for their produce during the surplus production phase. Taking this into account, the Policy allows use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
• With a thrust on Advanced Biofuels, the Policy indicates a viability gap funding scheme for 2G ethanol Bio refineries of Rs.5000 crore in 6 years in addition to additional tax incentives, higher purchase price as compared to 1G biofuels.
• The Policy encourages setting up of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds, Used Cooking Oil, short gestation crops.
• Roles and responsibilities of all the concerned Ministries/Departments with respect to biofuels has been captured in the Policy document to synergies efforts.

13. SOLAR ENERGY

The government has the following missions and schemes:

1. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, also known as NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION, is one of the eight key National Mission’s which comprise India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). NAPCC was launched on 30th June 2008 which identified development of solar energy technologies in the country as a National Mission. The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022, which was revised to 1,00,000 MW by 2022 during June 2015.
2. PM KUSUM –Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched the Pradhan MantriKisan UrjaSurakshaevemUtthanMahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme for farmers for installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants in the country.
3. The National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), an autonomous institution of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is the apex National R&D institution in the field of Solar Energy. NISE is organizing “Suryamitra” skill development programmes in collaboration with State Nodal Agencies, at various locations across the country.
4. Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme for achieving cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW from Rooftop Solar (RTS) Projects by the year 2022.

14. WIND-SOLAR HYBRID SYSTEMS

Under the category of wind-solar hybrid power plants, Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) and Solar PV systems will be configured to operate at the same point of grid connection. There can be different approaches towards integrating wind and solar depending upon the size of each of the source integrated and the technology type.

15. PRADHAN MANTRI UJJWALA YOJANA (PMUY)

Government of India is committed to provide clean cooking fuel through LPG to all the uncovered households in the country. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016 through which cash assistance is given to the beneficiaries to get a deposit-free new connection, Initially, PMUY envisaged a target of 5 crore connections with an allocation of Rs. 8000 crores over a period of 3 years starting from FY 2016-17. This is a part of the Government’s overall focus on ensuring energy access to all. unelectrified villages are being electrified. To take the rural electrification vision forward, Saubhagya Yojana has been started to provide electricity connections to unconnected households and all households are likely to be covered by 31^st December 2018. Over 28 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across India, both by Government and private agencies under the Mission Innovation Scheme of the Prime Minister.

CONCLUSION

The emission standards and usage of clean energy sources has to be encouraged by governments providing various policies and programs, with new blending mandates take place in different regions by adopting the new fuel specifications for environment and energy security. Hence the country and at the national level enough awareness has been sought to curtail the unchecked resource utilization. Several global and national platforms and policies is assuming centre stage in order to efficiently manage the resources and sustain it for future use.