Approval of Bihar Biofuel Production Promotion Policy- 2023

• 05 Jul 2023

Why in News?

The Bihar Biofuels Production Promotion Policy- 2023 was approved in the meeting of the Bihar State Council of Ministers on July 4, 2023. Along with this, the Council of Ministers took many other important decisions.

Key Points:

• Under this policy, the Bihar government will give a grant of 15% of the cost of plants and machinery to those who set up plants for biofuel production in the state. This grant will be up to a maximum of five crores.
• Sc, ST, OBC women, differently-abled, war widows, acid attack victims and third-gender entrepreneurs will be given 15.75 percent of the cost of plot and machinery and a maximum of Rs 5.25 crore.
• Additional Chief Secretary of Cabinet Department Dr. S. Siddhartha said that the last date for applying for stand-1 clearance to the units to get grants under this policy is June 30, 2024.
• Also, these entities will have to apply for financial incentive approval by June 30, 2025.
• This policy will remain in effect till March 31, 2028, from the date of issue of resolution.
• The additional Chief Secretary informed that the production of biofuels will reduce the national dependence on the import of fossil fuels. This will result in the saving of foreign exchange. The use of biofuels will reduce environmental pollution and farmers will get quick payment for sugarcane and grain production. Along with this, there will be a facility to convert waste into compressed gas, which will provide new business opportunities.
• Apart from this, the Council of Ministers has extended the last date of application for units applying under the Bihar State Investment Promotion (Textiles and Leather) Policy 2022 to June 30, 2024. It was earlier scheduled for June 30, 2023.
• The Cabinet has approved the last date for applying for financial approval by the units to June 30, 2025. After the implementation of the Bihar State Investment Promotion (Textiles and Leather) Policy 2022, investors in the textile and leather sector in the state have got encouragement.
• The Cabinet also approved the Bihar Architects Service Rules- 2014 to give 25% t weightage in regular appointments to contractual employees.
• In the first phase, 59 units have been approved by the State Investment Promotion Board. The proposed investment amount is Rs 311.63 crore, after the implementation of this policy, the Muzaffarpur bag cluster started. In this, textile bags are being manufactured on more than 1100 industrial sewing machines.
• Textile bag-making units with more than 1000 stitching machines have also been set up in Muzaffarpur and Patna districts. In Muzaffarpur, textile manufacturing units are being set up by companies like RCS International and V-2. In the leather sector, seven companies are bringing the project to Madhubani at a cost of more than Rs 100 crore.