Biofuel policy gets Cabinet approval:

I had already mentioned about the National Bio Diesel Policy coming up in CY2009 and this is just a precursor to that.......:

Very good news for all the Bio Diesel Companies, which are listed in various exchanges in India like Southern Online Bio Technologies Ltd (SBTL), IKF Technologies Ltd, Williamson Magor & Company Ltd,(additional benefits for Williamson Magor could come in the form from changes in funding pattern from 75:25 to 90:10 for North-eastern states in respect of schemes of department of rural development) etc.

It is strange and very sad that after Amar Singh's/ Mulayam S Yadav's Samajbadi Party tied knots with the UPA, the seiral Bomb Blasts (in India) gained momentum. Is there a link between the two??

Which section of the Indian Society are represented by Samajbadi Party (SP) ??

NEW DELHI: The government is planning to make it mandatory for oil companies to sell a 20% ethanol-blended petrol across the country by 2017. The National Policy on Biofuels, which was cleared by the Cabinet on Thursday, has set a target to achieve higher blending of biofuel in both petrol and diesel.

The policy has also suggested to remove all central taxes on bio-diesel and accord `declared goods’ status to biofuels that would ensure a uniform 4% sales tax (VAT) on the product across states. As per the policy, a certification mechanism would be put in place for the blending exercise that would have to conform to BIS specifications.

The government has already initiated a bio-fuel strategy, under which 5% ethanol blending in petrol is mandatory across the country and this would go up to 10% from October this year. The use of blended diesel, however, is yet to kick-off due to non-availability of adequate land for plantation of bio-fuel plants like jhatropha.

The Cabinet also approved setting up of National Biofuel Co-ordination Committee headed by the prime minister and Biofuel Steering Committee chaired by cabinet secretary and comprising secretaries of 10 concerned departments. In other decisions, the Cabinet approved amendment to the Collection of Statistics Bill, 2007, which paves the way for introduction of strict guidelines for bringing even individuals under the purview of collection of data. The Cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) also met on Thursday and approved a scheme for infrastructure development for food processing sector by setting up mega food parks.

Under the scheme, in the first phase 10 out of a total of 30 mega parks proposed for 11th Plan would be set up with government providing 50% of the project cost in general areas and 75% in north-eastern region as grant subject to a maximum amount of Rs 50 crore. The CCEA also gave its approval to enhance emoluments of the president, vice-president and governors of states to Rs 1.50 lakh, Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1.10 lakh, respectively.

It also approved changes in funding pattern from 75:25 to 90:10 for north-eastern states in respect of schemes of department of rural development and gave nod to a Rs 774 crore project for implementing global positioning system aided geo augmented navigation (GAGAN) system for seamless navigation of aircraft over Indian airspace.

The Cabinet also approved restructuring the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, increase in quota of Haj pilgrims, extradition treaty with Iran and procurement of new electronic voting machines for Lok Sabha polls in 2009