Diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector is imperative for growth: Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister Road Transport & Highways inaugurates the 2nd edition of India Bioenergy Tech & Expo 25. (L to R): Dignitaries on stage Dr Y B Ramkrishna Ramakrishna, Senior Vice President, IFGE; Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister for Environment, Forest and Wild Life, Delhi, H.E. Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India, H.E. Kimmo Lahdevirta, Ambassador of Finland to India, Ravindra Boratkar, Founder Member, IFGE & Managing Director, MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.

- Dipti Barve

Emphasising the significance of biofuel for the economy and sustainability after inaugurating the 2nd Edition of India Bioenergy & Tech Expo 25 (IBET 2025), an International Exhibition and Conference on Bioenergy and Technologies, at Yashobhoomi (New Delhi), Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, said, "Shifting to alternative fuel is crucial for India and for that diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector is imperative for growth because, in our country, 65 per cent population depends on agriculture, but their contribution to the GDP growth is only 14 per cent." The three-day event was organised by the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) and MMActiv Sci-Tech Communications.

The dignitaries gracing the event included H E Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India, H E Kimmo Lahdevirta, Ambassador of Finland to India, Dr Y B Ramakrishna, Senior Vice President, IFGE; Ravindra Boratkar, Founder Member, IFGE & Managing Director, MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications, among others. The theme of this year's event was "Transition to Net Zero: Need to Scale up Bio-energy initiatives"

The Union Minister observed that the future of biofuel energy looks promising and has the potential to create jobs in agriculture and rural India. He called for cooperative efforts from all stakeholders to make progress in this direction.

While highlighting the importance of alternative fuels Gadkari said that India is focusing on alternative fuels like biofuels and hydrogen to combat pollution and reduce imports. Biofuels, particularly bioethanol, are being promoted to address air pollution from transport and reduce fossil fuel imports. Biofuel production from surplus agricultural products like corn and rice straw benefits farmers and the economy.