India to make it mandatory for auto makers to offer biofuel vehicles in 6 months: Gadkari

New Delhi

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said India will makeit mandatory for auto manufacturers to offer vehicles running 100 per cent onbio-fuels in the next six months.

Such a move will be cost-effective for consumers, who are hassled by the highpetrol prices, the minister said, pointing out that a litre of bioethanol costsRs 65 as against Rs 110 paid for petrol. The alternative fuel is also lesspolluting and saves forex. "We are committed to delivering vehicles with flex engine norms. We havetaken a decision, we will make it mandatory by which there will be aflex-engine," Gadkari said at an event hosted by domestic brokerage ElaraCapital.

"Within six months, we will give orders for making flex engines(mandatory)," he said, adding that state-run oil marketing companies havealready been ordered to offer bio-fuels at the same facilities as the oneselling petrol and diesel.

The minister said consumers will have a choice between petrol and bioethanoland a switch to the alternative is also essential for the country because ofthe surplus production of crops like rice, maize, corn and sugar, from whichbioethanol is made.

He added that in many of the crops, the minimum support price offered to thefarmers is higher than the commercial price or the one in international prices,making it essential for diverting the harvest for the overall betterment of thecountry. Gadkari said manufacturing of electronic vehicles is also on at a fast paceacross categories and estimated that there will be a flood of such automobileson the roads in a year.

He also said that in the next five years, he wants India to be the leading automanufacturing hub in the world offering vehicles with all the fuels for theworld. The recently launched vehicle scrappage policy will help in sourcing ofraw materials, he said. Efforts are also underway on using hydrogen as a fuel, and to tap the gas fromsea water and sewage water, Gadkari said, without sharing specifics.

Meanwhile, Gadkari said the National Highways Authority of India has alreadybeen undertaking monetisation efforts through which it has raised over Rs40,000 crore, and sounded confident about achieving the incremental target ofraising Rs 1.60 lakh crore from the roads sector included in the nationalmonetization plan announced earlier this month.

He said NHAI will raise the money either through the 'toll-operate-transfer'model that has been used previously or also through the infrastructureinvestment trust (InvITs) which is to be floated soon by the NHAI.

The minister asked long-term money managers like pension and insurance funds tocome forward and invest in the issues floated by NHAI for better returns,pointing out that the overall toll collections are likely to shoot up to Rs1.40 lakh crore per year in five years from the present Rs 40,000 crore peryear.

NHAI is giving smaller bundles for monetization, which will entail commitmentsof around Rs 500 crore as against Rs 5,000 crore earlier, Gadkari said,reasoning that such smaller bundles attract smaller investors and also increasethe returns for the authority.

He said regular monetization efforts through diverse instruments will also helpthe NHAI continue with its ambitious plans on road building, which includesconstructing 26 express highways across the country. Gadkari assured that in the next three years, Indian roads will be at par withthe ones seen in the US or Europe from a quality perspective.

The government is also targeting to lower fatalities through a variety ofinterventions over time and take the number to zero deaths on highways by 2030,Gadkari said, adding that engineering, enforcement, education and emergencycare services can be of help.