Publication Date:01-June-2005
10:25 PM US Eastern Timezone 
Source:UNI

Pune--Union Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy Sources Vilas Muttemwar today said that work on the development of hydrogen fuel cells to power motor vehicles was progressing as per plan in the country.

The Hydrogen Energy Board was striving hard to ensure that India remains on par with the rest of the world in developing the technology, he told a press conference here.

The US claims that 5 per cent of its cars on road would be run on hydrogen in the next 20 years, Mr Muttemwar said. India, too, he claimed, can achieve enough progress to make similar claims.

The Minister said fossil fuels are likely to get exhausted within 90 years and steps have to be taken to ensure alternative fuels.

''We are taking steps and have already charted a road map for it.

This is a partnership between the Government and industry, and industrialists like Naval Tata and Mahindras are members of the Board,'' he added.