KSBDB NATIONAL CONFERENCE BACKGROUDNER

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

THE VENUE & THE CITY

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t is expected that farmers, rural entrepreneurs, industrialists, businessmen, investors, policy makers and strategists would actively participate in the conference, contribute and derive benefits that would accrue by way of new initiatives and policy changes. Participation is strictly by invitation and there will be no registration or delegate fees.

The conference venue is located in the Central Business District of Bangalore. Though the weather is pleasant at this time of the year, light woollens may be required during early mornings and late evenings. It is proposed to arrange visits to some project sites of KSBDB close to Bangalore on 23rd January. Participants desirous of making use of this may kindly intimate the organizers at ksbdbnatcon@gmail.com as early as possible..

INVITEES MAY KINDLY INDICATE THEIR PARTICIPATION TO THE ORGANISERS EARLY

Our contact details

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

ACCELERATING BIOFUEL PROGRAMMES IN INDIA 22 February 2014 Hotel Capitol, Raj Bhavan Road, Bangalore- 560 001

Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board 116, 8th Cross, Railway Parallel Road, Kumara Park West Bangalore 560020 Karnataka State Phone: +91-80-23568199/23568200, Fax: +91-80-23568200 E-Mail: ksbdbnatcon@gmail.com; Website: www.biofuelkarnataka.in

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Block-14, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,New Delhi-110 003, India.

Phone: +91-11-24364188,Fax: +91-11-24361298/24360404 E-Mail: secy-mnre@nic.in Website: www.mnre.gov.in

Organised by

Event Co Sponsors

Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board

THE HUTTI GOLD MINES Co. Ltd., (Govt. of Karnataka Undertaking)

(Department of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj) Government of Karnataka Supported by

NOVOZYMES SOUTH ASIA PVT. LTD.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India

The national biofuel policy announced in 2009 has received mixed reactions and varied BACKGROUND success from the point of view of its implementation. A dynamic policy needs to be reviewed once in 4-5 years to be an effective tool. In the meeting of the reconstituted MNRE Working Group on biofuels held in New Delhi in January 2014, it was aptly decided that a national conference could be an excellent platform to deliberate on these points, and come out with ideas on new initiatives and policy changes required. Karnataka was chosen to plan & host the conference. Hence the conference is now being held, on 22nd February 2014, in Bangalore.

KSBDB was set up in 2010 by Government of Karnataka in conformity with the Karnataka State and the national biofuel CONFERENCE policies. Right from its inception, the Board has strived to take HOST forward the biofuel movement in the State with a farmercentric, multi-species approach which is supported by a wellthought out infrastructure designed to support all stages of the value chain of biofuels. Also, the efforts of KSBDB to add value at the rural level and cater to rural energy requirements have yielded excellent response from the farming community, and from all other stakeholders.

It is therefore quite befitting that KSBDB has been asked to facilitate this event and share its experiences with the active support of MNRE.

IMPORTANCE OF THE CONFERENCE India imports over 80% of its petroleum needs spending a whopping eight lakh crore rupees a year which is the single-most critical component of the import bill of the nation. This is not only exerting a lot of financial stress but also leading us towards an energy crisis. In spite of such imports, rural India suffers energy shortages which is adversely affecting agrioperations and quality of life, resulting in avoidable migration to urban areas. It is estimated that India has the potential to substitute at least 30% of these imports through biofuels which could make a huge difference to our foreign exchange situation and to rural prosperity. If we could do miracles in food and milk production, we can definitely repeat the success in biofuels also.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME There are several issues pertaining to bio-energy that merit detailed analysis and discussion. This conference being of one day only, it is decided to choose the following issues most relevant to our nation:

1. Experience in different states in bio-fuel sector so far: This is designed to share & evaluate the progress achieved and problems faced by some of the prominent States.

2. Achieving critical volumes in Biomass production: Availability of biomass, perhaps, is the most critical issue. India has set up capacity to process close to a million tonnes of TBO`s per annum but most of it is under-utilised for want of oilseeds. Similarly, commercially viable technologies are available for 2nd generation bio-ethanol, but supply chain arrangements for making available the agri-wastes seem to be rather distant. Both these are crucial issues if we are to achieve the existing targets of B20 & E20 by 2017.

3. Managing biofuel value chain: This is an important aspect, being relevant in achieving the desired volumes and quality in biofuel production in a viable & sustainable manner.

4.

Views of stakeholders: It is vital to reflect upon the valuable insight of various stakeholders in the biofuel value chain to understand the problems & possible solutions and use them to achieve national objectives.

5. Panel discussions on new initiatives & policy changes required: This is the last session of the conference and is expected to result in summing up of some very novel initiatives that will be needed if we are to be prominent players on a global scale.