I do not how many state leaders have supported bio-diesel until now but I am sure that no other statesman has come forward in support of bio-diesel like Indian President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. While speaking at the inauguration of the "Bio-diesel Conference towards Energy Independence", he talked about the need for a comprehensive national bio-diesel policy for India. He said, " India has nearly 60 million hectares of wasteland, of which 30 million hectares can be made available for energy plantations like "atropha"or any other bio-fuel plant. Once grown, the crop has a life of 50 years. Our aim should be to produce minimum 2 tonnes of bio-diesel per year per hectare, which will result in the production of 60 M/tonnes per year in full capacity in an optimistic environment."
You find the full text of his speech in the above link.
Until now, bio-diesel has not received adequate support from the Indian government or from the private sector. Hopefully, President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's such strong and open support will persuade the decision makers in the Indian government to take the issue of bio-diesel more seriously. I agree with President Kalam that India should invest more in bio-diesel and I also feel that bio-diesel can help India a lot in overcoming the energy crisis at a time when increasing price of oil both in the international and national markets has put the Indian government in a very uncomfortable position.
All the Indian cities are now suffering from excessive air pollution. Use of bio-diesel can surely help to reduce air pollution a lot but more than that bio-diesel can help Indian economy a lot.
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