New Delhi, June 5 (Agency)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country has achieved the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol, five months ahead of the deadline. This has reduced carbon emissions by 27 lakh tonnes, has resulted in foreign exchange savings of more than Rs 41 thousand crores and farmers have earned more than Rs 40 thousand crores from ethanol blending in the last eight years.
Addressing a program on ‘Save Soil Andolan’ at Vigyan Bhawan here on the occasion of World Environment Day, Modi congratulated the people of the country, farmers and oil manufacturing companies for this achievement. He said that how big this achievement is, it can be gauged from the fact that in the year 2014, only 1.5 percent ethanol was blended into petrol in India.
‘Save Soil Andolan’ is a global campaign to raise awareness about the deteriorating health of soil. It was started by spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev ‘Sadguru’ in March 2022.
Increase in Forest and Wildlife: The Prime Minister said that the forest cover of India has increased by more than 20,000 square kilometers in the last eight years. There has also been a record increase in the number of wildlife. To protect the environment, India is emphasizing on innovation and environmental technology. 40 million tonnes of carbon emissions are being reduced annually by the Ujala scheme of LED bulbs.
healthy soil
Prime Minister Modi said that India’s efforts to protect the environment have been multi-faceted, despite the negligible role in climate change. He said that in the last eight years, continuous work has been done to keep the soil alive. Farmers have benefited a lot by running the ‘Soil Health Card’ campaign. Due to this, there has been a saving of eight to 10 percent in the cost of the farmers and an increase in the yield has been observed. He said, if the soil is getting healthy today, then the product is also increasing.
