India’s biodiesel association calls for more B20 blending, tax exemption to stimulate industry

In India, the Biodiesel Association of India (BDAI) has called on the central government to place biodiesel in the “declared goods” category so that it will receive a uniform rate of taxation throughout the country.

The BDAI also called on the government to encourage the use of B20 blends and exempt biodiesel used in those blends from taxation. Meanwhile, the president of the BDAI, Sandeep Chaturvedi, said that the industry faces a feedstock shortage and is not utilizing full production capacity. At other times, BDAI has proposed a B5 mandate, a price reduction from the current $2.54 level, and a 30 percent subsidy on jatropha cultivation.

Earlier this week, Biofuels Digest reported that Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will convene a Group of Ministers meeting aimed at making a decision on India’s biodiesel policy. Observers expect that a Biodiesel Board will be established to coordinate policy and provide stability for the market. In addition, the meeting is expected to produce a target of as much as 1.3 billion gallons of biodiesel per year.

Until now, although India has been a leader in jatropha-based research, most Indian biofuels activity has been on the ethanol side, although D1 Williamson Magor Biofuels announced that it would invest $89 million in jatropha plantations and a biodiesel plant, with an eventual ambition of a 55,000 hectare jatropha plantation in eastern India.