A smart biofuel beginning in Gujarat

At a time when there is growing global concern over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, Gujarat’s tryst with biofuel as an alternative to petrol and diesel has proved a promising starter. It was the first state that started growing ratanjyot (jatropha curcus), from which biofuel could be produced. The state’s tryst with biofuel began in 2005, when Dharmendra Parekh, owner of Aaditya Aromedic & Bio-energies Pvt Ltd., signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in a small village of Tarsad in Navsari district. His biofuel unit, which was set up at a cost of Rs45 million (US$1.05 million), today produces 1,000 liters per day of oil and sells it at Rs39 (US$0.91) per liter. The first ever research in this area was undertaken by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Top agricultural scientists in the world, including those from the Science and Technology Department of China, have conducted research on this plant. Biofuel production can help India increase its leverage in the international alternative fuel market. (July 20, 2008)