Numaligarh (Assam) [India], September 14 (ANI): India got its first second-generation ethanol plant on Sunday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating Numaligarh Refinery Ltd’s bamboo-based bio-refinery unit in Assam. The foundation stone of the NRL Bio Refinery at Numaligarh was laid by the Prime Minister himself on February 9, 2019.
This is a landmark development for Assam in particular, and for the northeast region as a whole, which grows bamboo in abundance. In 2014, India’s ethanol blending stood at just 1.53 per cent. By 2022, the country achieved a 10 per cent blending rate—five months ahead of schedule. The original target of 20 per cent blending (E20) by 2030 was advanced to 2025 and has already been met in the current ethanol supply year (ESY).
The ₹5,000 crore Numaligarh 2nd-generation bioethanol plant is the first in the world to use bamboo as feedstock. It is designed as a zero-waste facility, utilising every part of bamboo to produce high-value industrial chemicals such as green furfural and green acetic acid (used in APIs), food-grade carbon dioxide (CO₂), and bio-coal. The plant also generates 25 MW of green electricity, advancing India’s net-zero mission.
“Experts suggest that our oceans hold significant reserves of oil and gas. To identify and utilise these resources effectively, we are launching the National Deep Water Exploration Mission. At the same time, India is making remarkable progress in green energy and sustainable power generation. While the country lagged behind in solar power production just a decade ago, it now ranks among the top five nations globally in this sector,” PM Modi said at the event.
Calling Assam “the land that enhances India’s energy capacity,” the Prime Minister said, “Petroleum products produced here accelerate the country’s development. The BJP-NDA government is committed to taking Assam’s strength to new heights. In these changing times, India needs more sustainable fuels as an alternative to oil and gas. One such alternative is ethanol. Today, a plant to make ethanol from bamboo has been started here. This will greatly benefit the farmers of Assam.”
He added that the government will support bamboo cultivation for the plant, with an annual investment of about ₹200 crore in the region, benefiting thousands of people.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a polypropylene plant, set up at a cost of ₹7,000 crore, which will reduce India’s import dependency on polypropylene by 20 per cent. The plant is expected to generate foreign exchange savings of USD 85 million annually and create employment equivalent to 75,000 man-days every year.
Together, the projects—worth over ₹12,000 crore—position Assam and the northeast at the centre of the global green energy and petrochemical landscape. “These projects reflect PM Modi Ji’s love and dedication for the people of Assam and the North-East, and his commitment towards net zero and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on his X timeline a day earlier.
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), incorporated on April 22, 1993, is a Schedule ‘A’ Miniratna Category-I CPSE with a 3 MMTPA refinery at Numaligarh in Golaghat district of Assam, according to the Oil India Ltd website. As of March 31, 2023, Oil India Ltd holds a 69.63 per cent stake in NRL, while the Government of Assam and Engineers India Limited hold 26 per cent and 4.37 per cent, respectively. Oil India Ltd is the promoter and has management control of NRL. (ANI)
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