Kalpana Pathak / Mumbai September 25, 2008, 0:37 IST Around 150 companies, led by state-owned oil marketing companies and Reliance Industries (RIL), the country's largest private company, have evinced interest in production of biodiesel. The move comes on the back of the government's plan to introduce a 20 per cent blending of the non-fossil fuel with diesel. The number of firms interested in the non-fossil fuel has increased manifold, up from just 25 entities some two years ago. Apart from the increase in the number of players entering the sector, the scale of operations has also increased substantially, with 30 companies planning large-scale operations, experts said. FRESH FUEL # Oil extracted from seeds of jatropha plant is blended with diesel to manufacture bio-diesel # Bio-diesel is also produced with vegetable oils # India envisages blending of biodiesel with diesel as a measure to cut import dependence on fossil fuel # The country imports 70% of its oil consumption # Nearly, 150 companies have shown interest in production of biodiesel The capacity of biodiesel plants set up by these companies will range between 30 tonnes per day and 300 tonnes per day. Based on the capacity, it will cost between Rs 30 crore and Rs 300 crore to set up these plants. Cumulative investment and projected output figures could not be obtained. "We see the number of companies going up in the future, with every district in the country having over one production unit," said Kalpesh Jani, managing trustee, Agricultural Diversification Centre, a Gujarat-based NGO, which tracks biodiesel ventures in the country. "There is a lot of wasteland in villages and these companies are taking up these lands for cultivation," he added. Oil extracted from seeds of the jatropha plant, which can grow in wasteland across the country, is blended with diesel to manufacture biodiesel. Biodiesel is also produced with vegetable oils, the primary feedstock for the fuel, which is scarce. India, which has around 40 million hectares of wasteland available for jatropha cultivation, could replace a tenth of diesel consumption by 2012, if only a fourth of the wasteland was grown, said an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) executive, who is involved in the project. India, which imports 70 per cent of its oil consumption, envisaged blending of biodiesel with diesel as a measure to cut the import dependence on fossil fuel, enabling it to reduce the oil import bill. At present, the ministry of new and renewable energy has set up a committee, which is looking into the costing factor of biofuels to determine the price that will spur investment into this sector. Even as pricing is not yet determined, the government has taken other steps like giving 'declared goods' status for biodiesel. The declared goods status gives uniform treatment across different states with a value-added tax (VAT) of 4 per cent. Production plans The three state-owned oil marketing companies