ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF JATROPHA BIODIESEL IN INDIA

In recent times, the world has been confronted with an energy crisis due to depletion of resources and increased environmental problems. India itself imports around 70 percent of its oil requirement. Diesel is the primary transport fuel of the country. It comprises of around 42% of total fuel market. Our country imported around 2.3 million tonnes of diesel in 2007-08 against 9.6 lakh million tonnes in 2006-07. The situation has led to the search for an alternative fuel for petro-diesel, which should be not only economically sustainable but also environment friendly. Of course the interest in the Jatropha plantation primarily focuses on biodiesel. The key factor is: Will it be possible to establish the right cultivation and processing methods so that the Jatropha plant can produce a high-quality fuel which can compete with petrochemical diesel in terms of price? One key element that makes all the difference between success and failure is the cost factor — in other words, the potential returns. Nobody in the country is in the favor of the implementation of a high-tech agrarian methodology that needs maximum input to delivers bumper crops. Contrary, people are looking for a practicable type of cultivation that is compatible with the routines and possibilities of local farmers, so that the Jatropha plantations can be profitable for the rural cultivators with a minimum input of men, money and materials.