NEW DELHI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that ethanol-powered vehicles can help bring down the price of petrol to just Rs 15 per litre.He said that soon, all vehicles will run on ethanol produced by the farmers."Our government is of the mindset that the farmers become not only 'annadata' but also 'urjadata' ...
All the vehicles will now run on ethanol produced by farmers.
"If an average of 60% ethanol and 40% electricity is taken then petrol will be available at the rate of Rs 15 per litre and the people will be benefitted," he said.Gadkari said that in such a scenario, pollution will come down and India's hefty import bill will also ease.
"The import [of oil] is of Rs 16 lakh crores, this money will go to the homes of farmers instead," he said.Earlier too, Gadkari had said the prices of fuel can potentially come down with the introduction of ethanol-run vehicles.At an event in Nagpur last month, Gadkari had said he would launch Toyota company's Camry car in August, which will run 100 per cent on ethanol and also generate 40 per cent electricity.
"If you compare it with petrol, it will be Rs 15 per litre of petrol because ethanol's rate is Rs 60 while the rate of petrol is Rs 120 per litre.
Plus it would generate 40 per cent electricity.
The average would be Rs 15 per litre, he said.Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from various plant materials collectively known as "biomass." It can be used to fuel cars in a variety of blends.(With inputs from PTI)