Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Economics

Chapter

Indian Economic Development: Environment and Sustainable Development

Question:

Read the following Case Study based on Sustainable energy sources and answer question based on it.

India has been giving a push for alternate fuels such as Ethanol and more recently, Methanol to improve its energy security. India meets 85% of its crude oil requirement, 53% of its natural gas requirement, and 25% of its coal requirement through imports. Ethanol is primarily used for blending with gasoline citing twin benefits : substitution of gasoline to arrest rising crude imports and using a relatively cleaner fuel than gasoline. The Government of India regulates the prices of ethanol derived from various sources and procures it through the Oil Marketing Companies at pre-determined prices. However, ethanol primarily derived from molasses and sugarcane juice can ignite a fuel vs food security debate; Methanol, on the other hand, can be derived from different sources such as natural gas, coal, naphtha, biomass etc. Natural gas is the most widely used feedstock to produce methanol across the world accounting for almost 70% of the global production. India has given a strong push for methanol from coal since coal is abundantly available in India whereas natural gas is a scarce resource. India is on the cusp of a major transformational change as it transitions towards a low carbon economy. The energy policies of the country and those on the anvil demonstrate and focus on the country's transition toward cleaner fuels in a sustainable manner. And coal gasification of domestically available coal to produce methanol (deployed with Carbon Capture & Storage-CCS) presents an opportunity to accelerate this transition in an energy secure manner.

'Alternate fuel' refers to:

Options:

fossil fuel

conventional energy sources

non-conventional energy sources

non-biodegradable energy sources

Correct Answer:

non-conventional energy sources

Explanation:

The term "alternate fuel" refers to non-conventional energy sources that are considered alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. In the context of the case study, India is giving a push for alternate fuels such as Ethanol and Methanol. These fuels are considered alternatives because they are derived from sources other than conventional fossil fuels like gasoline or diesel.