Use of biofuel in India - from jatropha plant and sugrcane molasses

Sri Lanka can also adopt recent policy initiative from India to use biofuels. India has approved a national biofuel policy that states that by 2017, transport fuels in India need to contain 20 per cent biofuel, according to T V Padma of scidev.net.

Two main types of biofuels are envisaged: alcohol from plant wastes, chiefly sugarcane molasses, and biodiesel — oil produced from non-edible oilseed crops such as jatropha curcas, which can be blended with diesel.

The policy supports increasing biodiesel plantations on community, government-owned and forest wastelands, but not on fertile, irrigated lands. The government estimates 13.4 million hectares of barren land are available for jatropha cultivation, which could potentially yield 15 million tonnes of oil each year.