Biofuel to play key role in India's energy transition: Hardeep Singh Puri
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Sunday that transformative initiatives like the Biofuel Mission, Green Hydrogen Mission, and Samudra Manthan are steering India towards a new era of energy self-reliance.
The Union Minister highlighted that biofuel forms a crucial foundation of India's sustainable energy future, empowering farmers, reducing dependence on imported fuels, and giving fresh momentum to environmental conservation.
He said that in the next five years, the expansion of domestic energy production, integration of new technologies, and the resolve for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' will make India even stronger as a global energy power.
"Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is today advancing rapidly with full confidence towards energy transition," the Union Minister added.
"From 2014-15 up to May 2026, the ethanol blending with petrol programme has resulted in a saving of more than Rs 1.90 lakh crore in foreign exchange by substituting 310 lakh metric tonnes of imported crude oil and has generated additional earnings for farmers of more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Besides it has cut carbon emissions of more than 930 lakh metric tonnes," according to official figures.
"India imports close to 88.5 per cent of the crude oil it consumes which explains a great deal about why ethanol blending sits so high on the policy agenda. Every barrel of oil bought from abroad exposes the country to price swings and supply shocks that are entirely outside its control. Ethanol produced from Indian sugarcane, maize and rice offers a way to blunt that exposure using resources grown at home," according to an official statement.
Meanwhile, India's installed renewable energy capacity has increased nearly fourfold from 76.38 GW in 2014 to 288.58 GW as on June 30, 2026, according to information tabled by the government in Parliament last week.
Solar power leads in the country's renewable energy segment with an installed capacity of 162.15 GW followed by wind power at 57.44 GW and hydro power with 57.24. The remaining 11.75 GW is accounted for by bio power.
As of now, a total of 297.36 GW non-fossil fuel sources-based electricity capacity has been installed in the country as on June 30, 2026. This includes 288.58 GW renewable energy capacity and 8.78 GW nuclear power capacity, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik said in a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha.
