India Notifies Standards for Petrol Blends with up to 30% Ethanol

May 20, 2026

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by Akshita Singh (Business Standard) The move is part of the government's preparedness for the next phase of its ethanol-blending programme beyond E20, after advancing the deadline for 20% ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26

The Union government has notified new fuel standards for petrol blended with up to 30 per cent ethanol, the next step in the government’s push towards higher ethanol use in transport fuels as it looks to cut crude oil imports and expand its domestic biofuels ecosystem.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) notified specifications for E22, E25, E27 and E30 fuel blends, according to a Gazette notification published last week. The standards cover “admixture of anhydrous ethanol and motor gasoline for usage in the positive ignition engine-powered vehicles”.

The BIS notification, however, only lays down the technical specifications required for such blends to be introduced in the market; it does not mandate immediate nationwide sale of E30 fuel.

The move towards higher blends comes as the government readies for the next phase of its ethanol-blending programme beyond E20, after advancing the deadline for 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26.

In recent months, the Centre has also begun evaluating the feasibility of higher blends such as E85, even as it assesses whether India’s fuel retail and automobile ecosystem is ready for a wider transition. READ MORE

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Excerpt from The Pioneer: At a time when even the EV transition remains heavily dependent on imported components, flex-fuel may well represent India’s most realistic route towards true energy self-reliance.

India has already proved it can move quickly on ethanol. The question now is whether it can move smartly.

The answer is not to linger over halfway stops like E22, E25 or E27. The next logical step is flex-fuel. If India wants lower oil dependence, a stronger domestic fuel base and a transport system that can actually scale, flex-fuel is the cleaner and more durable path.

The logic is simple. Flex-fuel vehicles allow consumers to use whatever blend is available locally, whether E20, E85 or E100. That flexibility matters in a country as large and uneven as India, where fuel availability, logistics and regional supply conditions vary widely. It also saves automakers from repeatedly spending on separate development and testing programmes for every new blend level. One vehicle platform, many fuel options: that is the real efficiency gain.

This debate matters even more now because the global oil environment has become increasingly unstable. The West Asia crisis is another reminder that India’s transport fuel system is still too exposed to imported crude and the geopolitical shocks that come with it. The Prime Minister’s call to conserve fuel and reduce import dependence is therefore not just political messaging. It is a strategic warning.

On that measure, ethanol-blended flex-fuel vehicles make a strong case for themselves. They are, in effect, Atmanirbhar. The fuel can be produced domestically. The feedstock can be sourced domestically. The value chain stays largely within India. In a period when energy security is being tested from every direction, that is not a small advantage.

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So the danger is obvious: a rapid move to EVs today may not eliminate import dependence at all. It may simply shift it from the Middle East to China and the restriction of Chinese rare-earth magnets last year was no less impactful to EVs as the Straits of Hormuz closure has been to internal combustion engine vehicles. READ MORE

Excerpt from News 24: Many older petrol cars in India were not designed to handle high ethanol blends like E30.

Ethanol has different chemical properties compared to regular petrol and may affect engine parts such as fuel lines, injectors, rubber components, and engine tuning if the vehicle is not built for higher blends.

Even some vehicles currently labelled as E20-compatible may require further modifications before they can safely use E30 fuel for long-term operation.

Because of this, the government’s latest move is being seen as preparation for the future rather than an immediate transition. READ MORE

Excerpt from Mint: RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the largest automobile manufacturer in India, earlier told Mint the company has the capability to comply with the new standards.

“If the government decides to implement it and it becomes a standard requirement for everybody, we will comply. We have the capability to comply with it,” Bhargava said.

BIS norms have established technical pre-requisites for safe use of ethanol-blended fuels — including percentage of ethanol to be blended with petrol, permissible impurity levels, and testing methods — providing car makers, OMCs and component suppliers with a formal benchmark for certifying higher ethanol blends.

The standards are aimed at ensuring compatibility of the fuel with engines, fuel injection systems and vehicle components.

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Ethanol lobby happy

Ethanol lobby group All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) has welcomed the move. “It’s a progressive and forward-looking step that reinforces the government’s long-term commitment towards higher ethanol adoption, reduced crude oil dependence, and a cleaner mobility ecosystem,” AIDA president Vijendra Singh said.

“The introduction of E25 fuel standards will provide interim relief to the industry by helping absorb the current surplus sugar and ethanol production capacities,” he said.

According to data from All India Distillers' Association, India’s ethanol production capacity is about 20 billion litres as of March 2026, while demand under the 20% blending mandate is around 11 billion litres.

Why now

The US-Iran standoff is continuing to squeeze crude prices, the effect of which has now trickled down to India, with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) increasing petrol and diesel prices. The cost of CNG and LPG cylinders has also surged.

And with no end in sight to the West Asia war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to limit non-essential travel, work from home and convene meetings online to conserve fuel.

Ethanol blending has become a priority for the government because it is produced domestically, primarily from sugarcane and grains. Meanwhile, India imports more than 85% of its crude oil requirement. READ MORE

Excerpt from ChiniMandi: Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has urged the central government to double the ethanol blending limit in petrol from the current 20 per cent to 40 per cent, arguing the move would reduce India’s dependence on crude oil imports, conserve foreign exchange, and benefit farmers growing sugarcane and maize, Deccan Chronicle reported.

Naidu made the request directly to Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and indicated he had already written to the Centre on the matter. Referring to countries such as Brazil, where ethanol blending levels are significantly higher, the Chief Minister argued that India should move more aggressively towards higher blending ratios to strengthen energy security and ease the burden of petroleum imports.

Naidu said the existing ethanol blending programme had already enabled the country to save nearly Rs 1.1 lakh crore in foreign exchange and cut carbon emissions by approximately 500 lakh tonnes. He added that farmers across the country were collectively earning Rs 87,558 crore through the current blending initiative and said that expanding the ethanol mix further would generate additional income for agricultural communities.

The Chief Minister highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s role as a large-scale maize producer and said that a higher blending target would substantially increase demand for the crop, given its importance as a primary raw material in ethanol production. He expressed concern, however, that maize farmers were currently not benefiting from the government-set Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2,400 per quintal, as procurement at that rate was not taking place on the ground. As a result, open market prices for maize had fallen to between Rs 1,700 and Rs 1,800 per quintal, according to the report, causing significant losses for growers. READ MORE