Pune: Asserting that he wants to create a Rs 50,000-crore ethanol economy, Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari said the bio-fuel will benefit both "ecology and economy". Addressing an event here, Gadkari said a lot of years went into convincing about ethanol use but in the last five years, the policy related to ethanol has been implemented in true sense.

"Chairman from a big oil company came to meet me recently. I told him you spend Rs 10,000 crore in purchasing hydro-carbo properties in other countries, but why do you spend only Rs 2,000 crore in India on the green fuel. Farmers will give you ethanol," he said.

Gadkari said today a lot of oil companies and others are going into the right direction in the field of green fuel.

"All are going into right direction because I and Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) are firm on this issue.

"Whatever work that has been taken place in the field is very small and we have to go head and increase the volume as we have to create Rs 50,000 crore ethanol economy in the country," said Gadkari.

"If the use of ethanol is increased, it will help ecologically and economically as import of crude oil will go down and it will benefit ecology and economy," he said.

Gadkari, who also holds the ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said he is making a policy that revolves around themes of "import substitution, cost effectiveness and pollution free".