Miscellaneous Schemes under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh / Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG)

• Background: Earlier, LPG subsidy was given directly on cylinders, leading to leakage, diversion, and misuse.
• Aim: To prevent diversion of subsidized LPG and ensure benefits reach genuine users.
• Mechanism:
  • Consumers pay the full market price for LPG.
  • Subsidy is transferred directly to their bank account (DBT model).
• Eligibility:
  • LPG users and their spouses with annual taxable income below ₹10 lakh.
• Achievement:
  • Recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as the largest DBT scheme in the world.

👉 Significance: Transparency, direct benefit to poor families, and savings to government by plugging leakages.

Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana

• Type: Central Sector Scheme.
• Purpose: To promote Second Generation (2G) ethanol projects using non-edible biomass (wood, straw, grass, agri-residue) as feedstock.
• Implementation Period: Extended till 2028–29.
• Financial Assistance:
  • ₹150 crore per commercial project.
  • ₹15 crore per demonstration project.
• Coverage: Both “bolt-on” projects (attached to existing plants) and “brownfield” projects (upgrading older plants).

👉 Significance: Encourages renewable fuels, reduces oil imports, boosts farmers’ income, and supports India’s ethanol blending programme.

Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme

Launched in 2003 by MoPNG and scaled up under the 2018 Policy.
Aim: blend ethanol with petrol to cut crude imports, lower emissions, and support farmers.

• Targets: began with 5% blending; achieved E10 in 2022 (5 months early); E20 met by March 2025 (advanced from 2030).
• Feedstock diversification: 1G (sugarcane juice, molasses, surplus FCI rice, maize, damaged grains) and 2G (rice straw, bagasse, MSW).
• Pricing: government sets an annual Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP); OMCs must pay it. Differential FRP by feedstock manages diversion strategically.
• Coverage: now covers the entire country except the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep (logistical constraints).
• Financial measures: GST on fuel-blending ethanol cut from 18% to 5%; an interest-subvention scheme (2018) offers soft loans to mills/distilleries.

Ethanol Ex-mill Price by Feedstock (ESY 2024/25)

Feedstock Type	Ex-mill Price (₹/litre)
Maize	71.9
Damaged Food Grains	64.0
Sugarcane Juice	65.6
B-heavy Molasses	60.7
Surplus Rice (FCI)	58.5
C-heavy Molasses	56.3

Key Achievements of EBP

• Blending surged from 1.53% (2013-14) to 12.06% (2022-23).
• Avoided ~736 lakh tonnes of CO₂ (2014-25) — like removing 16 million cars from the roads for a year.
• Cumulative forex savings ~₹1.44 lakh crore (2014-25); ~₹24,300 crore in 2021-22 alone.
• Paid ~₹1.25 lakh crore to farmers and generated ~₹1.96 lakh crore for distilleries (2014-25).
• India became the 3rd-largest ethanol producer globally (after the USA and Brazil).

Balanced view — the FFV & consumer angle: Ethanol has a lower calorific value (~7,000 kcal/kg) than petrol (~10,500 kcal/kg), so blended fuel gives slightly lower mileage. Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs, running on E0–E85) need corrosion-resistant parts and cost 5–10% more. The real debate: who pays for the transition — government (subsidies), automakers (R&D), or consumers (cost & mileage)?

National Gas Grid (NGG)

• Purpose: To ensure equitable distribution and availability of natural gas across India.
• Current Status: About 24,623 km of pipelines are operational; another 10,860 km under development.
• Target: Increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy basket to 15% by 2030.
• Authority: Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) grants authorization.
• Key Projects:
  1. Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project – Connects Eastern India (pipelines: JHBDPL, Barauni–Guwahati).
  2. North East Gas Grid – Covers 8 NE states; implemented by Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd. (IGGL) (joint venture of IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL, NRL).
  3. City Gas Distribution (CGD) Networks – Pipelines supplying PNG to households and CNG to vehicles in specified Geographical Areas.

👉 Significance: Boosts cleaner fuel usage, industrial growth, and regional balance in gas infrastructure.

SATAT Initiative (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation)

• Purpose: To derive economic value from biomass waste by producing Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) and bio-manure.
• Targets:
  • 5,000 CBG plants by 2023–24.
  • 15 million metric tonnes (MMT) of CBG annually.
• Benefits:
  • Boosts supply of alternative fuel.
  • Creates 75,000 direct jobs.
  • Enhances farmers’ income.
  • Reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

👉 Significance: Brings a green revolution in transport fuel by making rural economy, farmers, and environment the biggest beneficiaries.