As told to Parliament (August 8, 2024): 3,023 million litres of ethanol was blended with petrol in 2020-21
Increase in blending of ethanol
Ethanol blending with petrol in India has significantly increased under the ethanol blended petrol programme, Suresh Gopi, minister of state in the Union ministry of petroleum & natural gas, told the Lok Sabha.
From the ethanol supply year (ESY) 2013-14 to 2020-21, ethanol blending rose from 380 million litres to 3,023 million litres, increasing the blending percentage from 1.53 per cent to 8.17 per cent, the minister said.
During this time, petrol consumption also grew by around 64 per cent. Ethanol production for fuel and and its supply to oil marketing companies has increased more than seven times since 2013-14. Due to this progress, the government advanced the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26, Gopi added.
Green hydrogen-powered vehicles
India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) aims to make the country a global leader in producing and exporting green hydrogen, targeting 5 million tonnes per year by 2030, Gopi told the Lok Sabha.
The Union ministry of new and renewable energy defines green hydrogen as hydrogen made from biomass. One of the NGHM's key components is to support pilot projects in the transportation sector. The scheme guidelines for the implementation of pilot projects for the use of green hydrogen in transport under the NGHM were issued in February 2024, he added.
Charging stations for electric cars
According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, 25,202 electric vehicle (EV) public charging stations have been installed across the country as of July 31, 2024, Shripad Naik, minister of state in the Union ministry of power, told the Lok Sabha.
Charge Point Operators build EV charging stations, either privately or publicly, while the central and state governments provide the policy framework and support required to expand the charging infrastructure, Naik said.
Glacial lake outburst floods
Following the collapse of the Teesta-III hydroelectric dam in October 2023, the Central Water Commission has decided to review the design flood of all existing and under construction dams vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), Raj Bhushan Choudhary, minister of state for jal shakti, told the Lok Sabha.
The review will ensure that spillways can handle both the maximum possible flood and GLOFs. Furthermore, GLOF studies have been made mandatory for all new dams planned with glacial lakes in their catchments, the minister said.
Erosion of sea wall in Puri
There is no permanent sea wall along the Puri and Konark coast in Odisha, according to Odisha government’s department of water resources, Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state in the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, told the Rajya Sabha.
A study by the National Centre for Coastal Research over nearly three decades revealed that 78.6 per cent of the Puri coast is gaining land, 11.3 per cent is eroding and 10.1 per cent remains stable, Singh added. The majority of Konark's coast is classified as low accretion, with stable to low erosion observed at the eastern end.
Between 1999 and 2018, Odisha lost 153.8 kilometres (28 per cent) of its 485-km-long coastline due to seawater intrusion, he stated.
Environmental degradation in Karnataka
Drought in Karnataka is mainly due to uneven rainfall, affecting almost all rainfed agricultural areas, Singh told the Rajya Sabha. The Agro-ecological sub region map of the country published by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research shows that 16 per cent of Karnataka is classified as arid and 37 per cent as semi-arid.
Losses due to forest fires
No comprehensive survey of forest fire damage has been conducted by the Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (FSI) as of 2023-2024, Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
However, the FSI has assessed forest fire damage in Kerala, Uttarakhand and Manipur based on state requests. In 2021-2022, Kerala saw 85.89 square km of forest fire damage, while Uttarakhand experienced 1,781.39 sq km. In 2022-2023, Manipur had 861.32 sq km of forest fire damage, the minister stated.