Centre actively encouraging adoption of hydrogen, biofuels: Hardeep Puri

The prices of petroleum products in the country are linked to the international market, with India importing more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements.

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The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is aggressively promoting the adoption of alternative energy sources such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, biofuels, including ethanol, as well as encouraging electric vehicles, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri said.”The government is actively encouraging the adoption of CNG, LNG, hydrogen, biofuels including ethanol, and electric vehicles,” Puri said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha Thursday.The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 had set a target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol and 5 per cent biodiesel blending in diesel by 2030. This target was subsequently advanced to 2025-26. During the ongoing Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2024-25, public sector oil marketing companies have achieved an average blending of 19.05 per cent as on July 31, 2025, with 19.93 per cent blending achieved in July 2025.In addition, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has also implemented multiple initiatives such as the ethanol-blended petrol (EBP) and biodiesel blending programme, as well as the SATAT initiative for marketing compressed biogas (CBG) along with CNG.Further steps, according to him, have been taken to boost biofuel production across the country, including rural India. These include pricing incentives, opening alternate routes for ethanol production, notifying the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana for establishing second-generation ethanol bio-refineries using agri-residues, SATAT initiative for CBG and bio-manure production from waste and biomass, and an interest subvention scheme for enhancing and expanding ethanol distillation capacity.Further, Puri said that the Centre is committed towards ensuring energy security, affordability and accessibility for every citizen.Despite international crude oil price fluctuations, domestic petrol and diesel prices have been reduced owing to various steps taken by the government and the public sector oil marketing companies, he added.

Puri also informed the Parliament that the prices of petrol and diesel are market determined and the public sector oil marketing companies take appropriate decisions on pricing.

The prices of petroleum products in the country are linked to the international market, with India importing more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements.

The Modi government reduced excise duty by ₹13/litre on petrol and ₹16/litre on diesel in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022, fully passing the benefit to consumers.

In April 2025, excise duty on petrol and diesel was increased by ₹2 per litre each, but this was not passed on to consumers, the minister said.Lately, the Centre also took several measures to insulate citizens from high international prices, including diversifying the crude import basket, invoking provisions of Universal Service Obligation to ensure availability of petrol and diesel in the domestic market, and augmenting domestic exploration and production of crude oil.