Interim Budget 2024: Govt to mandate phased blending of biogas in CNG, PNG: Sitharaman

New Delhi, Feb 1: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the government will mandate the phased blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes.

“These steps are taken towards meeting our commitment for ‘net-zero’ by 2070,” Sitharaman said while presenting the Interim Budget in Lok Sabha.

She said that the viability gap funding will be provided for harnessing offshore wind energy potential for initial capacity of one giga-watt.

“Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT will be set up by 2030. This will also help in reducing imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia,” she said.

She said that the financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection.

“The government will expand and strengthen the e-vehicle ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Greater adoption of e-buses for public transport networks will be encouraged through payment security mechanisms,” she said.

She said that to promote green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will also be launched.

“This will provide environment-friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals and bio-agri-inputs,” she said.

She said that this scheme will also help in transforming today’s consumptive manufacturing paradigm to the one based on regenerative principles.