
Nitin Gadkari on Friday announced that the orders to make flex-fuel engines mandatory in vehicles will be issued to all the automobile manufacturers in the upcoming 3 to 4 months. Earlier, the Union Minister of Road Transportation and Highways had stated that the government will announce a flex-fuel engine policy soon.
“In the next 3 to 4 months, I will be issuing an order, mandating all vehicle manufacturers to power vehicles with flex engines (that can run on more than one fuel),” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a statement.
“We are committed to delivering vehicles with flex engine norms. We have taken a decision, we will make it mandatory by which there will be a flex-engine,” he further added.
The ministry stated that the main objectives of the policy are to lower the rising air pollution due to the carbon emission of fossil fuels as well as give consumers a more eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to petrol, which is a more expensive fuel and continues to hit record highs in price. The ministry further pointed out that a litre of bioethanol costs Rs 65 as against Rs 110 paid for petrol, therefore the use of alternative fuels will save on forex and help India’s economy
Running on green fuel, the flex-fuel engines will thus provide the vehicle owners with a choice to drive their cars on either petrol or ethanol.
Gadkari has been an active advocate for the development and use of flex-fuel in India similar to countries such as the USA, Canada, Brazil, etc, where its use has been a common practice for years. “India is committed to an eminently achievable clean energy-based economy, through an annual road-map for production, supply of ethanol till 2025-26, and systems for its countrywide marketing,” Gadkari said.