Company Name : Nepra Environmental Solutions Pvt.Ltd-bansi Source : http://www.financialexpress.com/news/gmintieupforjatrophacultivation/601005/

New Delhi: General Motors India, along with the US Department of Energy, has tied up with Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute under the ministry of science and technology to grow jatropha. Jatropha is used in the manufacture of biofuel. The company has already identified 83 acres in Gujarat for jatropha cultivation. President and managing director of GM India Karl Slym told FE that the tie-up would help develop alternative fuel for automobiles, which GM is seriously exploring.

The company would make a formal announcement to this effect next Monday. Slym said: “Jatropha is a very interesting alternative bio-diesel…you grow it where you can’t grow food; hence, it takes away the whole argument of taking away land meant for food production. Every single piece of jatropha can be reused. You use the oil to make biodiesel…it's considered to be the friendliest way of producing bio-fuel.” To test jatropha farming, GM India had planted the crop on a one-acre field about 18 months back at its factory at Talegaon in Maharashtra.

“The purpose of that test was not to run cars, but to understand the product as much as we can," he added. Once the first round of cultivation is completed in Gujarat, the company plans to test the commercial viability of biodiesel. GM India may also look at bio-diesel products for its car portfolio in the future.

Slym declined to reveal the investments details for this initiative. The US Department of Energy has already tied up with GM for a five-year partnership to help develop the potential of jatropha as an alternative bio-fuel. Slym said the company is keen to explore alternative fuels for Indian roads in the future.