Death toll rises to five in central Italy fuel depot explosion
The death toll from a massive explosion at a fuel depot in central Italy rose to five after the body of the last missing worker was found, Italian authorities confirmed.
The Ethanol-Blended Petrol (EBP) programme has helped expeditious payment of about Rs 57,552 crore to the farmers and savings of more than Rs 75,000 crore of foreign exchange in the last three years, the Parliament was informed on Monday.
Under the EBP programme, public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) sell ethanol blended with petrol.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, informed the Rajya Sabha that in the last three years (as on September 30, 2024), the EBP programme also resulted in crude oil substitution of nearly 110 lakh metric tonnes and net CO2 reduction of about 332 lakh metric tonnes.
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Under the EBP programme, the blending of ethanol with petrol increased from 188.6 crore litres in ethanol supply year (ESY) 2018-19 to more than 700 crore litres in ESY 2023-24, with a corresponding increase in blending percentage from 5 per cent in ESY 2018-19 to approximately 14.6 per cent in ESY 2023-24.
Since 2019, the number of retail outlets selling ethanol-blended petrol has increased steadily. In 2019, ethanol-blended petrol was sold from 43,168 retail outlets of Public Sector OMCs which increased to all retail outlets across the country in 2024, the minister said.
In order to promote the blending of ethanol in petrol, the government has taken several measures which include the expansion of feedstock for the production of ethanol, an administered price mechanism for procurement of cane-based ethanol under the EBP Programme, Ethanol Interest Subvention Schemes (EISS) for ethanol production from molasses as well as grains, and Long-Term Offtake Agreements (LTOAs) by OMCs with Dedicated Ethanol Plants (DEPs), etc.
From 1.53 per cent in 2014, ethanol blending has surged to almost 15 per cent in 2024, with the government advancing the target of 20 per cent blending to 2025 – five years ahead of schedule.
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