Energy plays a vital role in the economic growth of any country. Current energy supplies in the world are unsustainable from environmental, economic, and societal standpoints. All over the world, governments have initiated the use of alternative sources of energy for ensuring energy security, generating employment, and mitigating CO 2 emissions. Biofuels have emerged as an ideal choice to meet these requirements. Huge investments in research and subsidies for production are the rule in most of the developed countries. India started its biofuel initiative in 2003. This initiative differs from other nations' in its choice of raw material for biofuel production-molasses for bioethanol and nonedible oil for biodiesel. Cyclicality of sugar, molasses, and ethanol production resulted in a fuel ethanol program which suffered from inconsistent production and supply. The restrictive policies, availability of molasses, and cost hampered the fuel ethanol program. Inconsistent policies, availability of land, choice of nonnative crops, yield, and market price have been major impediments for biodiesel implementation. However, a coherent, consistent, and committed policy with long-term vision can sustain India's biofuel effort. This will provide energy security, economic growth, and prosperity and ensure a higher quality of life for India.Keywords Biofuels . Biodiesel . Fuel ethanol . India
Global Energy OverviewEnsuring an adequate and reliable energy supply at competitive prices to support economic growth and meet essential population needs is vital for any country. The volatility of the market and of energy prices, declining production rates, and recent geopolitical acts of war and terrorism has underscored the vulnerability of the current global energy system to supply disruptions. According to World Energy Outlook (2008), current energy supplies are unsustainable from environmental, economic, and societal standpoints. In addition, it is projected that world energy demands will continue to expand by 45% from 2008 to 2030, an average rate of increase in 1.6%/yr. In 2007, the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC 2007) released its fourth assessment report confirming that climate change is accelerating and if current trends continue, energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases will rise inexorably, pushing up average global temperature by as much as 6°C in the long term. Recent floods, cyclones, tsunamis, sea rise, droughts, and famines throughout the world were implicated as a part of climate change resulting from unabated burning of fossil fuels (IPCC 2008). Climate change threatens water, food production, human health, and the quality of land on a global scale (OCC 2006; IPCC 2008). Preventing catastrophic and irreversible damage to the global climate ultimately requires a major decarbonization drive. Globally, 80% of total primary energy supply depends on the fossil fuels coal, gas, and petroleum-based oils. Renewable energy sources represent only 13% of total primary energy supp...
