India OKs manufacture of E100 motorcycles and rickshaws

In India, the transportation minister has granted permission to Bajaj and TVS to manufacture 100% ethanol-powered motorbikes and rickshaws in an effort to drive demand specifically for second-generation ethanol produced from rice and wheat straw. The decision is another step towards the minister’s and the central government’s aim to boost biofuel production from waste in an effort to reduce reliance on foreign fossil fuel imports, where wheat and rice straw along with bamboo are favored feedstocks.