Biofuels related work taken away from MNRE, given to Oil Min

Work related to biofuels has been taken away from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and placed under the oil ministry, an order issued by the Cabinet Secretariat said.
President Ram Nath Kovind has given the approval for the change in rules relating to this, it said.
According the recent order, MNRE will not handle work related to the national policy on biofuels, setting up a national biofuel development board, strengthening existing institutional mechanisms and overall coordination concerning biofuels.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been mandated with the overall coordination concerning biofuels and related matters, it said.

The government has been making efforts to push the biofuel sector.
"In biofuels, the country has a ray of hope in providing energy security. Biofuels are environment friendly fuels and their utilisation would address global concerns about containment of carbon emissions," according to the national policy on biofuels.
The transportation sector had been identified as a major polluting sector, it said.
"The use of biofuels has, therefore, become compelling in view of the tightening automotive vehicle emission standards to curb air pollution," the policy said.