BIO - FULES

Two students Ajayendra Singh Parmar (Roll No. 16325) and Himanshu Hooda ( Roll No. 16676) from Applied Sciences & Humanities Department of Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon attended a one-day National Conference on “Multi-Stakeholder Round Table Training Sustainable Solutions for Jatropha Based Bio-Fuels in India” on 5th February, 2014 at PHD House, New Delhi. It was organised by PHD Chamber in association with EBTC (European Business and Technology Centre) and EIAS (European Institute of Asian Studies) with an objective to discuss the barriers (technical, commercial, land use), The challenges (biodiversity rights, fragmented policies, market entry)The possible solutions (non-toxic Jatropha varieties, better industrial process, international collaboration) related to bio-fuels.

The conference was inaugurated by Mr. N.M. Kejriwal, Chairman, Agribusiness Committee, PHD Chamber in the august presence of Mr. Vijay Sardana, Co Chairman, Agribusiness Committee, PHD Chamber; Mr. Axel Goethals, CEO, European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS); Dr. Vivek Dham, Advisor for Research & Innovation, Delegation of European Union to India; Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Executive Director, PHD Chamber and the audience, in large number, witnessed the same.

The distinguished speakers Dr. Frank Heemskerk, CEO, RIMS; Dr. Naveen Sharma, World Agroforestry Centre; Dr. Rajinder S. Chauhan, Dean (Biotechnology) Jaypee University of Information Technology; Mr. Lucas Rosario, CEO, Rojac Consultants, Chennai; Dr. Anup Kalra, Executive Director, Ayurvet Ltd; Mr. H.M Behel, Coordinator, Biofuel Mission; Dr. Ludo Diels, Research Manager, Flemish Institute for Technological research (VITO), Mol, Belgium; Mr. Monish Verma, Environment Sector Specialist, EBTC; Dr. D.K. Giri, Director, Schumacher Centre etc shared their views on “ Summary of The Technical Issues identified for Jatropha”, “Jatropha or Bio-fuels: Let’s put the Farmer First!!”, “Biotech Intervention in Jatropha Towards a Sustainable Bio-Fuels Feedstock”, “The Benefits of Jatropha Cultivation for Rural development”, “Business Opportunities in Jatropha & Ayurvet Expertise”, ‘India Bio-fuel Mission and its Status’, ‘European S&T Cooperation with India in the Renewable Energy Sector’, ‘Potentials for SME Stakeholders on the Jatropha Platform’, “Politics of Biofuels” respectively.

This was a wonderful opportunity for the attendees to know something more about Jatropha and it’s current species used in India have serious drawbacks like variable oil yield, toxicity, lack of advanced knowledge of cultivation, propagation methods and IPR.