Pune, June 8 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday released Dr Pramod Chaudhary's book, "Pailatiravarun... Tar As Zhaal", which chronicles the latter’s entrepreneurial journey.

Speaking at the book release ceremony held at auditorium of COEP Technological University, the Chief Minister praised Dr Chaudhary's work in the ethanol sector, describing it as a form of national service by a visionary entrepreneur.

He recalled that when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was at the Centre, the initiative to increase the ethanol blending percentage had begun, however, in the midst the Vajpayee government left office, causing the topic to be put on the backburner and delaying the ethanol mission.

After the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, the ethanol topic gained momentum again, he said and pointed that Dr Chaudhary reviewed the ethanol policy, provided suggestions that were incorporated into it and since 2017-18, progress has accelerated.

He noted that blending 20 percent ethanol with petrol has resulted in savings of over Rs one lakh crore in foreign exchange and informed that ethanol is being used in aviation fuel and predicted that vehicles will run on biofuels in the future.

Fadnavis highlighted the potential for creating a policy to make current plastics biodegradable, which could lead to the development of industries based on this technology.



He mentioned that Dr Chaudhary had prepared a report on creating a Compressed Biogas (CBG) project using agricultural waste, rice waste and Mahua flower waste in Gadchiroli.

The state government would develop a policy to promote the development of the Gadchiroli district based on Dr Chaudhary's report, he added.

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