India aims to cut fuel imports as it boosts alternative fuel use, Gadkari says

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he Government of India plans to bring down its import of oil products and move towards using alternative fuels like methanol in the Indian transport sector, with an aim to reduce dependency on imports and be self-sufficient, said Mr Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. The country plans to start fifteen factories that produce second generation ethanol from biomass, bamboo and cotton straw and aims to develop its mandate to blend ethanol into 5 per cent of its gasoline. India imported 33 million tonnes of oil products over April 2016 to February 2017, which was 24 per cent higher than the imports during the same period a year ago. India is the third largest consumer of oil and the domestic energy consumption is expected to increase as the country targets a higher economic growth.