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To begin with, 5 per cent non-edible oil from Jatropha/Pongamia (bio-diesel) will be mixed with diesel during trial runs.

New Delhi , Oct. 13

THE Petroleum Ministry has announced that beginning January 2006, public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) will have to purchase bio-diesel extracted from plants such as Jatropha and Pongamia for mixing with diesel at Rs 25 a litre.

According to the policy, the OMCs would buy the product at a uniform price, as may be decided by them from time to time, depending on market conditions. The price would be inclusive of any taxes and duties and transportation cost for delivery of bio-diesel at the purchase centres.

"The uniform price, once fixed, will be in operation for six months, at the end of which it will be reviewed. The initial purchase price of bio-diesel by the OMCs will be Rs 25 per litre," the policy stated.

Unveiling the new bio-diesel purchase policy at a function here on Thursday, the Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, said OMCs such as Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation would purchase, through their select purchase centres, bio-diesel (B 100), which meets the fuel quality standard prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

To begin with, 5 per cent non-edible oil from Jatropha/Pongamia (bio-diesel) wouldbe mixed with diesel during trial runs and the percentage would be increased to 20 in phases, the Minister said, adding that automobile engines do not require any modification for using diesel doped with 20 per cent bio-diesel as fuel.

The policy also identifies the purchase centres. This has been done in consultation with OMCs on the basis of availability of minimum testing facilities for B100 and for blending HSD (diesel fuel) to the extent of 5 per cent.

These centres are located at Ghatkesar in Andhra Pradesh (also for Jharkhand and Orissa), Mandirhasaud in Chhattisgarh, Bijwasan in Delhi, Kandla in Gujarat, Rewari in Haryana, Devanagunthi and Mangalore in Karnataka, Manmand, Borkhedi-Nagpur, Loni and Vashi in Maharashtra, Bhatinda in Punjab, Sanganier-Jaipur and Salawas in Rajasthan, Korrukupet, Chennai, Narimanam and Karur in Tamil Nadu and Panki and Amousi-Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

Bio-diesel manufacturers interested in supplying the product to OMCs would approach the State-level coordinator. After assessment of the production capacity and the credibility of the prospective supplier by an industry team, the samples would be tested and the supplier would be registered if the samples met BIS specifications.

In the normal course, the registration would be revalidated after a year. The Petroleum Policy and Analysis Cell would monitor the implementation of the purchase policy and report the progress to the Ministry on a regular basis.

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