KRIBHCO: Shah launches ethanol plant; exhorts others to follow suit

Union Minister for Home and Cooperation, Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of the bio-ethanol plant at Kribhco Hazira in Surat, Gujarat on Wednesday. Many dignitaries including Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Railways, Smt.Darshana Jardosh along with co-operators led by Kribhco Chairman Dr Chandra Pal Singh were present on this occasion.

In his address, Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working on doubling farmers’ income, increasing India ‘s foreign exchange reserves and grappling with the challenge of global warming. Calling the ethanol plant a meaningful development for the maize farmers of the area, Shah said with this project it will produce 825 crore liters of bio fuel from 2.5 lakh metric ton of maize.

Shah said maize is the main crop in about nine districts of Gujarat. Farmers would be greatly benefited through this plant. Even inferior quality maize will benefit from this plant as it will boost the country ‘s economy and foreign exchange reserves.

The Union Cooperation Minister said that the bio-ethanol project of KRIBHCO will also provide raw material for animal feed, fisheries and poultry and will benefit these sectors also. He said that due to the liberal petroleum policy of the Modi govt, ethanol plants are being set up in the country today.

India used to import 172 MMT of crude oil in 2011-12 and 212 MMT of crude oil in 2021-22. Our dependence on crude oil has increased from 83 to 88 per cent as the energy sector requires crude oil to grow. We have to understand the importance of oil. Today, 9 lakh crore rupees of our country ‘s foreign exchange is spent on the import of crude oil.

“Fossil fuel is a good option to avoid this situation as done by many countries. America produces 55 percent of the world ‘s ethanol, Brazil 27 percent while India produces only 3 percent of ethanol. There are immense possibilities for this in India as well. Other co-ops should also follow Kribhco and set up such plants so that income of farmers increases and India ‘s foreign exchange reserves swell”, said Shah.

Shah said that the country has already achieved the target of 10% blending. The Modi government has also taken several policy decisions to achieve 20 % blending by 2025-26.

Shah also lauded Kribhco and said it truly represents the farmers of India. He said that its two mega fertilizer plants at Hazira and Shahjahanpur produce about 34 lakh metric tonnes of urea per year, which is 10% of the total sales in India. Kribhco has also created a special purpose vehicle which will be processing and exporting fruits and vegetables for farmers. He also lauded Kribhco’s seed initiatives and said Kribhco will work to certify 1.90 lakh quintals of seeds.

Several co-operators including Kribhco Chairman, NCUI Chairman, Nafed Chairman, along with state Chief Minister and MoS Railways were present on the occasion.