Zig‐zagging into the future: the role of biofuels in India

Abstract

India announced a long-awaited and much-needed national biofuel policy in December 2009 with a mandate of achieving 20% blending of bioethanol and biodiesel by 2017. However, while the determination of specifi c time-bound targets is a crucial step in the Indian biofuel program, several aspects of the guidelines refl ect uncertainty that may render the 20% target unachievable. This perspective traces the rapid changes in political strategies of biofuels in India over the last decade and reviews signifi cant scientifi c progress, achieved in the same period. Our observation indicates that biofuel policies in India have followed a zigzag course interspersed with several positive initiatives, severely discouraging advocacies and occasional neglect of biofuels. The multiplicity of related policies, each partially addressing biofuel issues have amounted to increasing ambiguity.We present an analysis of the tenets of the current policy with respect to land availability, related land use, and economic and marketing institutions, which are some of the important determinants of success for the Indian biofuel program. Some recommendations emanating from the analysis are (1) to estimate of available land and land use change effects; (2) to build resilience for energy crops towards climate change; and (3) to strengthen marketing and fi nancial mechanisms at grass-roots level. In conclusion we emphasize the need for timely scientifi c assessments and the subsequent incorporation into policy formulation to enable India to achieve the overall goal of sustainable biofuel production.

Forest Biomass for Energy Production: Perceptions of State Forestry Professionals from China and India

“…One of the main objectives of all of these policy initiatives was to avoid any potential conflicts between the production of food and biofuels, and therefore, non-grain-based feedstock was always encouraged for biofuels production in India. However, the target under the EBP has not been achieved due to highly fluctuating sugarcane production in India, whereas the NBM has progressed slowly due to the failure in Jatropha plantations across the country [6]. There is no recent information available related to the achievements in the NPB, and from observing the failures in both the EBP and NBM, it can be assumed that the blending target under the NPB has not been met due to similar reasons that affected the other two programs [6,7].…”

Benefits and Challenges Associated with the Development of Forest-Based Bioenergy Projects in India: Results from an Expert Survey

“…Most of the earlier studies focused on the -first generation‖ biofuels crops since the technologies for converting -second generation‖ biofuels crops (e.g., perennial grasses, woody crops, agricultural and forest residues) have not been developed in India [7]. In this context, Das and Priess [8] have reported various challenges for developing large-scale bioenergy projects in India. According to them, one of the major challenges is the lack of actual availability and difficulty in the acquisition of wastelands for energy crop plantations.…”

“…According to them, one of the major challenges is the lack of actual availability and difficulty in the acquisition of wastelands for energy crop plantations. It is due to the reason that landless and indigenous peoples in the country may have already used a large proportion of such land for the purposes of habitation, grazing, and agricultural production [8]. The other challenges that have been identified by Das and Priess [8] are the lack of data related to indirect and direct impacts of bioenergy production on food security, and lack of financing and marketing institutions for bioenergy in India.…”

Synthesis of biodiesel from pongamia oil using heterogeneous ion-exchange resin catalyst

“…These days clean fuel technology is being given more impetus owing to the prevailing fuel crisis and related pollution (Singh et al, 2012a(Singh et al, , 2012b(Singh et al, 2012c(Singh et al, , 2014a(Singh et al, , 2014b(Singh et al, , 2013a(Singh et al, , 2013b. Recent survey reveals that by 2017, 20% of energy needs of India should be met by biodiesel (Das and Priess 2011). To meet this expectation it would require 12-13 million ha of biodiesel feed stock plantation.…”