India targets 60 MT of bio-fuel by 2030: Kalam

Sundarkera (Chhattisgarh) -- India plans to produce 60 million tonnes (MT) of bio-diesel per annum by 2030, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said here Tuesday.

Addressing farmers growing jatropha, a source of bio-fuel, Kalam said during his one-day visit to Chhattisgarh that bio-fuel could transform India's oil scenario.

In a 25-minute interaction with jatropha farmers in Sundarkera village on the outskirts of this state capital, the president said he was very pleased to see that the shrub was being cultivated on a mass scale in the state.

"Jatropha is a vital tree for bio-diesel, farmers should use only high oil-content quality saplings. They must trim at the right time in the first one year to split the tree in at least in 60 branches so that a single tree can produce 400 grams of seeds in a year," Kalam said.

He wished the farmers good luck in bring about a bio-diesel revolution in country and said "with limited research so far in bio-diesel sector, India aims to produce six MT of bio-diesel annually by 2010 and 60 MT by 2030".

The government and private sector majors should accelerate research in bio-fuel sector. Related aspects of production, marketing and processing should also be looked into, said the president, who arrived in the state late Monday and is scheduled to leave Tuesday evening.

According to the Chhattisgarh government, bio-fuel rich plants like jatropha and karanj have the potential to help India get over its annual requirement of 124 MT of petroleum products, of which around 72 percent is met through imports at a cost of over Rs.1.5 trillion.