India has experienced major environmental degradation in the past decades, notably in the urban areas. A considerable share of the air quality problems are caused by the environmentally unfriendly transport means. Though in some cities, such as Delhi and Mumbai, successful policy initiatives have decreased air pollution considerably, in most cities it is still a great problem.
In India, agriculture plays a major role in the Indian economy. Combining this with the environmental considerations regarding the current transport sector, the Government decided to launch the biofuels program on a large scale. India is one of the largest sugar producers of the world; and most of the alcohol is produced from molasses, a by-product from the sugar industry. However, very few projects are being set up to produce ethanol. The present installed capacity for ethanol in the country is 3.2 billion liters per year but the actual production is only 1.3 billion liters. To encourage the use of renewable energy, improve the environment and assist the rural economy, the Government mandated the use of 5 percent ethanol-gasoline blends in the transport sector in nine states of India and four Union Territories.
Ethanol is a fuel with proven experience in other countries, and has large potential to be used as a gasoline blend. The use of ethanol-blended gasoline has various benefits like reduced dependence on imported oil, clean environment, avoidance of dangerous and environmentally damaging components in gasoline, such as benzene. Ethanol is also an oxygenated fuel and acts as an octane enhancer when mixed with gasoline. In India, though ethanol is abundantly available, its potential and use is yet to be exploited.
Biodiesel is produced from renewable, agricultural sources of energy. Vegetable oil from oil seeds of various plants or waste/crude vegetable oil can be used for manufacture of biodiesel. Being from plant origin, the net cycle effect is that carbon sequestered from the atmosphere during the growth phase of biomass (agricultural sources) compensates for emissions from biodiesel when it is used as fuel. This helps maintain the carbon cycle of nature thereby assisting to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHGs) effect.
The use of biodiesel (blended with petro-diesel) has various benefits like reduced dependence on imported oil, clean environment, avoidance of dangerous and environmentally damaging components in diesel, such as sulfur. Biodiesel also acts as an oxygenate when mixed with diesel, which reduces pollution significantly. Biodiesel offers a unique opportunity for significant rural economic development and provides large-scale employment to the rural poor.
On the legal status of bioethanol for energy, there are policy inconsistencies and conflicting regulations on the Central and the State Government level. As per the Constitution of India, regulation on potable alcohol is a State responsibility, while the alcohol for industrial units as well as for fuel purposes is a Federal (Central) subject. This results in a situation where each state has its own tax structure, and rules and regulations. This has adverse effects on the free movement and uniform and rational pricing of ethanol for blending purposes.
WII has been at the forefront in promoting biofuels in India. For over five years, it has been working to promote ethanol and biodiesel as renewable vehicular fuels in India through sustained and dedicated effort. It has taken a large number of initiatives in this direction.
WII has been organizing workshops, seminars, roundtable meetings, conferences, etc. It has supported Brazilian and US delegations to address these conferences. These meetings have covered relevant and important topics including policy, operations, market, and finance. Eminent speakers from India and abroad have been invited for these conferences. Study tours to the USA and Brazil have been organized to share experiences and facilitate technology transfer. A dedicated newsletter 'Biofuels India' is published apart from two websites dedicated to ethanol and biodiesel. WII also undertakes consultancy assignments for setting up biofuel projects in the country. | 
