Petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol (E20) may lead to a 3-5 per cent reduction in fuel efficiency in some vehicles, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on Friday. However, it maintained that the impact is offset by the fuel’s other advantages, including higher octane levels, improved anti-knock properties, faster combustion, smoother acceleration, better pickup, cleaner engine performance and lower lifecycle carbon emissions.
In a detailed question-and-answer document issued to address concerns over the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, the ministry described E20 as a “cleaner, higher-quality and more efficient fuel” compared with E10 petrol or conventional petrol.
The ministry said the rollout of E20 followed years of scientific studies, consultations with automobile manufacturers and efforts to strengthen domestic ethanol production capacity.
Rejecting criticism that the programme was introduced hastily, the ministry said India’s ethanol blending initiative dates back to pilot projects launched in 2001. A 5 per cent ethanol blending target was introduced in select parts of the country by 2006.
Ethanol blending remained at around 1.5 per cent until 2014, after which the government accelerated the programme with the introduction of the National Policy on Biofuels in 2018 and the expansion of ethanol production using multiple feedstocks beyond sugarcane.
India achieved 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol in 2022, ahead of its target, and reached the 20 per cent blending milestone during the 2025-26 ethanol supply year following investments in ethanol plants, storage facilities and logistics infrastructure, the ministry said.
Addressing concerns over older vehicles, the ministry said E20 underwent extensive testing covering engine durability, fuel systems, material compatibility, corrosion resistance, drivability and emissions before its nationwide rollout.
It cited feedback from automobile manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp, saying they had not reported E20-related corrosion, abnormal wear or component-life damage in vehicles serviced under real-world conditions.
The ministry also dismissed demands for petrol pumps to offer multiple fuel grades such as pure petrol, E10 and E20, saying maintaining parallel nationwide supply chains would increase logistics costs and complicate fuel distribution across India’s network of more than 100,000 retail outlets.
On pricing, the ministry said E20 is not necessarily cheaper than conventional petrol because ethanol procurement prices are fixed at remunerative levels to support farmers and can exceed the cost of petrol when international crude prices are relatively low.
It said the programme’s objective was to reduce India’s dependence on imported crude, improve price stability and strengthen energy security rather than lower pump prices.
According to the ministry, the ethanol blending programme has saved more than Rs 1.97 lakh crore in foreign exchange, displaced nearly 316 lakh tonnes of crude oil imports, reduced around 952 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and transferred over Rs 1.66 lakh crore to farmers since the 2014-15 ethanol supply year.
The ministry urged consumers not to be influenced by misinformation regarding E20, saying the fuel had been validated by vehicle manufacturers, testing agencies, oil marketing companies and regulators before its nationwide adoption.
(With PTI inputs)
