(Inventiva) India's ethanol blending programme has been hailed as one of the country's biggest energy success stories. It helped cut crude oil imports, boosted farmer incomes and transformed India's fuel economy. But the race to E20 has also exposed deeper questions over infrastructure, consumer trust and whether the transition was truly built to last.
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India’s growing appetite for fuel has come with an uncomfortable reality: the country produces far less crude oil than it consumes. More than 85% of India’s crude oil requirement is met through imports, leaving the economy exposed to volatile global prices, geopolitical conflicts and supply disruptions. Every spike in international oil prices widens the country’s import bill, puts pressure on the rupee and eventually filters down to households and businesses through higher transportation and logistics costs.
The vulnerability has become even more apparent in recent years. Conflicts in the Middle East, sanctions on major oil producers and disruptions along critical shipping routes have repeatedly demonstrated how quickly global events can influence India’s energy security.
For the govt, reducing dependence on imported crude was no longer simply an environmental ambition; it had become an economic and strategic necessity.
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Every litre of domestically produced ethanol blended into petrol meant one less litre of imported crude, lower foreign exchange outflows and an additional market for Indian farmers.
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Under the National Policy on Biofuels, the Modi government accelerated its ethanol blending programme and advanced the target of achieving a 20% ethanol blend in petrol from 2030 to the 2025-26 ethanol supply year.
The expansion triggered one of the fastest transformations of India’s fuel ecosystem. Sugar mills diversified into ethanol production, grain-based distilleries attracted fresh investment, banks financed new projects and oil marketing companies expanded procurement from domestic producers. By 2025, India had reached the E20 milestone five years ahead of schedule – a target that many had initially considered overly ambitious.
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According to official estimates, ethanol blending has saved India more than ₹1.4 trillion in foreign exchange over the past decade by reducing crude oil imports, displaced millions of tonnes of imported oil and helped lower carbon emissions.
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Some industries emerged as clear winners, others found themselves steering a new operational challenges, and consumers – despite becoming the final users of the policy – were rarely at the centre of its design.
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If the government’s objective was to reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil, the ethanol blending programme has largely succeeded.
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Instead of relying almost entirely on sugar sales, mills could divert sugarcane and sugar syrup towards ethanol production and sell it to state-owned oil marketing companies under long-term procurement programmes with government-determined prices. The result was a more predictable revenue stream that reduced their dependence on the volatile sugar market.
The policy also encouraged companies to invest aggressively in new distillation capacity.
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... government estimates suggest ethanol procurement has channelled more than ₹1.6 lakh crore into farmers’ incomes over the years. However, those gains were concentrated in states with well-developed sugar industries such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Regions lacking ethanol infrastructure or dependent on other crops experienced far fewer direct benefits.
Consumers, meanwhile, were never expected to be the primary beneficiaries.
Unlike many energy policies that promise lower fuel prices, ethanol blending was designed to improve energy security rather than reduce the price of petrol. In fact, ethanol generally costs oil marketing companies more than the pre-tax cost of petrol, while its lower energy content means vehicles travel slightly fewer kilometres on every litre compared with conventional fuel.
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The ethanol programme was never intended to make petrol cheaper. Its purpose was to make India less vulnerable to global oil markets while creating a domestic biofuel industry capable of supporting rural incomes and attracting long-term investment.
Yet the programme’s rapid success produced an unintended consequence.
As companies raced to build new distilleries and expand production capacity, ethanol manufacturing began growing faster than the ecosystem needed to absorb it. Within just a few years, the conversation had shifted from concerns about producing enough ethanol to questions over surplus capacity, procurement, storage, logistics and the long-term commercial viability of the industry’s massive investments.
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Government incentives prompted sugar mills and grain-based distilleries to invest heavily in new ethanol plants over the past few years. Those investments were made on the assumption that demand would continue rising as blending targets increased. Instead, the industry now finds itself with production capacity that exceeds the volumes currently required by oil marketing companies.
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Without stronger demand or access to export markets, many plants could end up operating below capacity despite the government’s success in expanding domestic production.
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(E)thanol requires specialised handling throughout the supply chain.
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Although Brazil is frequently cited as the global benchmark for high ethanol blending, its success did not emerge simply because it produced more ethanol. Over decades, the country developed an integrated ecosystem that connected producers, distributors, storage terminals, transport networks and fuel retailers. As Brazilian industry groups have repeatedly argued, the biggest challenge has never been growing enough sugarcane – it has been ensuring ethanol reaches consumers reliably, consistently and at competitive prices. In fact, Brazil’s distributors describe logistics rather than agriculture as the country’s biggest challenge even today.
India now finds itself approaching a similar juncture.
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While tests by IIT Kanpur suggest the average reduction in fuel economy is less than 5%, independent road tests and motorists have reported higher losses depending on vehicle age, engine calibration and driving conditions. Automobile experts also note that mileage depends on several other factors – including traffic, maintenance, tyre pressure and driving style – making it difficult to attribute every complaint solely to E20 fuel.
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Experts generally agree that E20 is unlikely to cause immediate engine failure in these vehicles. However, prolonged use may accelerate wear in components such as rubber seals, hoses and parts of the fuel delivery system that were originally designed for lower ethanol blends. Government-backed studies maintain that these effects are limited and manageable through routine maintenance, but many motorists remain unconvinced.
Not every complaint, however, can be blamed on ethanol itself.
Mechanics and fuel experts have pointed to another issue that received far less public attention: contamination. Because ethanol readily absorbs moisture, poorly maintained storage tanks at fuel stations can allow water to enter the fuel supply, particularly during the monsoon season. In several cases that circulated online, experts argued that visible fuel separation was more consistent with water contamination than with the normal characteristics of E20 petrol. Ethanol, they note, often exposed weaknesses in storage and maintenance practices that previously went unnoticed rather than creating entirely new ones.
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Although NITI Aayog had recommended pricing higher ethanol blends lower than conventional petrol to compensate for reduced efficiency, that approach has not been widely implemented. As a result, many consumers feel they are being asked to absorb the costs of a national energy transition without receiving any direct financial benefit in return.
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Brazil’s journey unfolded over decades. Mandatory blending began in the early twentieth century, gathered momentum after the oil shocks of the 1970s and evolved gradually through successive increases in ethanol content, advances in engine technology and continuous investments in distribution infrastructure.
By the time higher blends became commonplace, consumers had already adapted, manufacturers were producing flex-fuel vehicles at scale and fuel retailers were equipped to offer motorists multiple choices at the pump. Perhaps the biggest difference lies in consumer choice.
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With E20 now the default petrol across most fuel stations, motorists have limited alternatives unless they are willing to pay significantly more for premium fuels. At the same time, flex-fuel vehicles remain rare and millions of older vehicles continue operating on fuel systems originally designed for lower ethanol blends.
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The bigger questions now revolve around whether existing production capacity can remain commercially viable, whether procurement and pricing mechanisms can keep pace with industry investments, and whether storage, transportation and blending infrastructure can support further expansion without compromising fuel quality or consumer confidence.
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(T)he next stage of the programme must place greater emphasis on transparency, infrastructure and consumer engagement. Clearer communication around vehicle compatibility, stronger quality-control standards, more robust storage and logistics networks, predictable procurement policies and greater flexibility in fuel choices could determine whether ethanol remains a long-term success or becomes an increasingly contested policy. READ MORE
Related articles
- India Has Not Estimated Number of E20-Compatible Vehicles, Government Says (Deccan Chronicle)
- Congress Writes to PM, Seeks Removal of Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri Over Ethanol Blending Policy (Times Now)
- 'Gadkari Must Resign': E20 Janta Party Demands 100% Petrol Option At Pumps (Outlook India)
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Biofuel to play key role in India's energy transition: Puri (Hans India)
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Brazil aced the ethanol journey. Here's why it shows consumer trust matters most (Business Today)
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100-octane premium petrol sales double amid E20 vehicle damage concerns (Business Standard)
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Ethanol's long road to the future of mobility: Lessons from Brazil and India's E20 Journey (Economic Times Government)
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Govt says E20 fuel safe for vehicles, defends ethanol blending programme (Economic Times Industry)
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E20 Ethanol Blending Is The Way Forward, Aligns With Global Clean Energy Goals: Expert (Ommcom News)
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Govt says E20 petrol does not damage engines, credits ethanol blending for fuel price stability (Mint)
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Petrol would have cost ₹125/litre during March-April without ethanol blending (The Hindu Business Line)
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India has the ethanol for E100. But only 9 cars can actually drink it (India Today)
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India’s ethanol policy must count water, sustainability costs (Indian Express)
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Emails reveal Indian carmakers' fuel contamination worries before public retreat (Reuters)
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E10 for older vehicles? CEA backs separate petrol option as E20 debate intensifies (Pragativadi)
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India should bring back fuel with lower blend of ethanol, chief economic adviser says (Reuters)
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Chief Economic Adviser suggests E10 option for older vehicles amid E20 (Madhyamam)
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E20 Petrol Debate: CEA V Anantha Nageswaran Backs E10 Option For Older Vehicles (Free Press Journal)
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Chief Economic Adviser backs E10 option for older vehicles as E20 fuel transition sparks debate (India Blooms News Service)
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We see a drop in India due to PHEV import duty uncertainty: Lamborghini CEO (Autocar India)
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From Policy To Performance: How Lubrizol Additives Supports India's Accelerated E20 Journey (Lubrizol/India Chemical News)
Excerpt from Deccan Chronicle: The government on Monday said that the Centre has not yet estimated how many vehicles in India are fully compatible with E20 fuel. It, however, maintained that the ethanol-blending scheme is backed by scientific studies and consultations with automobile manufacturers and technical institutions. The statement of the government comes after a new social media-led campaign by the E20 Janta Party demanded that Indian vehicle owners would be given the option to purchase ethanol-free petrol alongside E20 fuel, as well as the resignation of Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, who is the main proponent of the government’s ethanol blending policy.
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The minister further said that the ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme had been implemented through a phased and scientifically validated process involving Niti Aayog, automobile manufacturers, oil marketing companies, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) and other technical institutions.
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“Laboratory studies and field trials covering engine durability, drivability, startability, corrosion resistance, material compatibility, emissions and fuel efficiency had confirmed that E20 was safe for use. These studies also established that legacy vehicles do not exhibit any significant variation in performance or abnormal wear and tear due to E20,” he said.
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Gopi further said that E15+ blended petrol (petrol containing 15 per cent ethanol) has been in widespread use for more than three-and-a-half years and E19-E20 fuel for more than two-and-a-half years, with over 20 crore two-wheelers and more than 3 crore petrol cars operating on these blends. “There is no verified evidence of widespread engine failure or vehicle breakdown attributable to ethanol blending,” he said, adding that manufacturers continue to honour warranty obligations for vehicles using E20 fuel.
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Citing industry data, the government also said that a leading automobile manufacturer serviced 2.84 crore vehicles during 2025-26, including about 1.5 crore vehicles not originally certified as E20-compatible, without reporting E20-linked corrosion, abnormal wear or reduced component life. “Another manufacturer tracked 1.4 crore vehicles operating on E20 over an extended period and found no evidence of ethanol-induced corrosion,” it said.
Gopi said the ethanol production capacity created in the country has been planned not only to meet the current requirement of E20 blending but also to cater to future growth in petrol demand, provide operational flexibility during seasonal variations in feedstock availability and support higher ethanol blends, flex-fuel vehicles and other emerging biofuel applications, as and when approved by the government.
“The government follows a diversified feedstock strategy under the national policy on biofuels. Ethanol is produced from multiple approved feedstocks, including sugarcane-based feedstocks, maize, damaged foodgrains, broken rice, foodgrains unfit for human consumption, surplus foodgrains approved by the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) and other approved agricultural feedstocks,” he said. READ MORE
Excerpt from Times Now:
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Rai has written to PM Modi demanding the immediate removal of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over the alleged failure and corruption in the ethanol-blended fuel policy.
In his letter, Rai has said that the Congress had earlier written to the PM on July 7, raising scientific, economic, environmental and consumer concerns related to ethanol blending. He alleged that the government has neither responded to those concerns nor ordered any independent scientific review of the policy.
Rai further claimed that the Centre is aggressively pushing towards higher ethanol blending targets such as E85 and E100 while ignoring the interests of over 35 crore registered vehicle owners in the country.
He alleged that the promises of reduced fuel prices, lower dependence on imported crude oil and benefits to farmers have not materialised, claiming that ethanol-blended petrol is being sold at nearly the same price as regular petrol.
He also questioned accountability in cases where vehicle owners allegedly face engine damage, mileage issues or warranty disputes due to ethanol-blended fuel. He also said that while oil companies are promoting the policy, consumers are left without clarity on responsibility if technical problems arise.
Rai also mentioned the NEET examination controversy and said that the ministerial accountability should also apply in the ethanol policy issue. He alleged that just as the Education Minister was held responsible during the NEET row, the Road Transport and Petroleum Ministers must also be held accountable.
The UPCC chief has demanded the immediate dismissal of Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri from the Union Cabinet and called for an independent inquiry into the ethanol blending policy and any potential conflict of interest associated with its implementation. He urged the PM to take immediate action in the interest of transparency and public accountability. READ MORE
Excerpt from Business Recorder: India’s road transport minister Nitin Gadkari sued Meta and other tech giants on Tuesday, seeking $1.14 million in damages over what he said were defamatory social media posts linking him to the country’s ethanol-blending fuel programme.
The lawsuit comes as the Indian government pushes ahead with its E20 biofuel strategy aimed at reducing its dependence on imported oil and lowering emissions.
E20 petrol, a fuel containing 20 percent ethanol, has come under scrutiny after viral social media posts alleged it harms engines and raises maintenance costs in vehicles designed for lower ethanol blends.
Gadkari filed the suit in the Bombay High Court, alleging that content circulated online falsely portrayed him as being personally responsible for the government’s E20 policy, his office told AFP.
The suit also claimed the posts accused Gadkari and his family of profiting from the initiative.
Gadkari is seeking 110 million rupees ($1.14 million) in damages, arguing that the “deepfake” posts and videos were causing “irreparable harm” to his reputation.
There was no immediate response from Meta to a request from AFP for comment about Gadkari’s lawsuit.
Apart from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, the suit also names X Corp, Google and other entities, Indian media reported.
India has the highest number of Facebook and Instagram users in the world, making it one of Meta’s most important markets by reach and engagement.
The government has steadily expanded regulations governing social media platforms, asking them to remove content and follow government takedown orders. READ MORE
Excerpt from Business Standard: Sales of 100-octane premium petrol, the only grade exempt from ethanol blending, have more than doubled in recent months amid mounting concerns over potential vehicle damage from ethanol-blended fuel, according to people familiar with the matter. The increase was especially sharp in July as the debate over ethanol blending intensified, they said.
State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) market 100-octane petrol under different brands, including Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOCL’s) XP100, Bharat Petroleum Corporation’s (BPCL’s) Speed100 and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s (HPCL’s) poWer100.
This grade of fuel is designed primarily for high-performance vehicles, including supercars, luxury sedans and superbikes. Demand, however, remains niche, accounting for just 0.1 per cent of India’s total petrol sales because of its significantly higher price than regular petrol, people cited above said. READ MORE
Excerpt from The Tribune: The government said E20 fuel offered higher octane, better anti-knock performance, improved combustion characteristics, smoother acceleration and lower emissions, contributing to cleaner and more efficient engine operation.
On pricing, the minister said public sector OMCs procured ethanol under a framework designed to ensure adequate supplies, provide remunerative prices to producers and support the agriculture sector, rather than maximise company profits.
The weighted average ex-mill price of ethanol for the 2025-26 ethanol supply year was Rs 66.61 per litre, while the estimated procurement cost, including GST and transportation, was about Rs 71 per litre for IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp.
The government said petrol prices were market-determined and reflected international crude oil prices, exchange rates, freight, taxes, ethanol procurement costs and other operational expenses. It said public sector OMCs incurred an average under-recovery of about Rs 11 per litre on petrol between March and June 2026, amounting to around Rs 21,300 crore, as retail prices remained below market-determined levels.
The minister said India's dependence on crude oil imports made ethanol blending strategically important, particularly during the ongoing West Asian crisis.
"During the recent West Asian crisis, despite sharp increases in global crude prices, India was able to shield consumers through calibrated Government interventions, diversified sourcing and the increasing contribution of domestically produced biofuels," he said.
The government said that while global crude prices had risen by around 70-80 per cent since February 2026, domestic fuel prices had increased by only about 7-8 per cent. It added that when the Indian crude basket touched nearly USD 135 a barrel, petrol could have cost around Rs 125 per litre at market prices, but consumers continued to pay Rs 94.77 per litre in Delhi, helped by OMCs procuring ethanol at about Rs 70 per litre.
He said ethanol blending had reduced India's exposure to international crude oil price volatility and exchange-rate fluctuations, calling it "a strategic investment in energy security, price stability, farmer welfare and foreign exchange savings, rather than a revenue-generating exercise for OMCs." READ MORE
Excerpt from Ommcom News:
Bengaluru: India’s E20 ethanol blending programme represents a significant step towards cleaner energy, energy security and sustainable development, and is well aligned with global climate goals, Sanjay Kumar Kar, Professor of Management and former Head of the Department of Management Studies and former Dean of Faculty Affairs at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, said on Thursday.
Speaking to IANS on India’s Ethanol Blending Programme, Kar said the country’s biofuel policy has been developed through a structured and consultative process involving multiple stakeholders, rather than being introduced abruptly.
“I think this is an interesting area where our government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has taken significant steps. The ethanol blending programme is the way forward,” he said.
“If you look at the United Nations’ clean energy and clean fuel development initiatives under Sustainable Development Goal 7, this programme is well aligned with that goal. The ambitious targets set under the National Policy on Biofuels in 2018, followed by the amendments in 2022, have led to what I would describe as an excellent and extraordinary achievement,” Kar told IANS.
He said the progress made in achieving the ambitious E20 target reflects sustained policy support, scientific advancements and long-term planning.
“Achieving 20 per cent ethanol blending has been a gradual process, supported by scientific progress and consistent policy incentives from governments over the years,” he stated.
Addressing concerns and misinformation surrounding ethanol-blended fuel, Kar said greater emphasis should be placed on understanding the science behind the programme and its broader benefits. READ MORE
Excerpt from India Today: Pull into a petrol pump in Delhi, and you will be sold E20: a solution that's four parts petrol and one part ethanol. You have no say in it. Since April, it is the only petrol India sells.
At a small number of pumps, you can now buy something much stronger, though not petrol-wise. It’s (almost) 100 per cent ethanol. Indian Oil sells it in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. READ MORE
Excerpt from Indian Express: India now produces ethanol from C-heavy and B-heavy molasses, sugarcane juice, maize, damaged food grains and surplus rice. Each pathway has a different environmental footprint. A useful measure is the Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI), which compares the usable energy produced with the fossil energy consumed in cultivation, fertiliser manufacture, irrigation, transportation and distillation. Efficient sugarcane ethanol produced in bagasse-fired distilleries typically achieves an EROEI of about 2–4, whereas grain-based ethanol generally ranges between 1.2 and 2 because of higher fossil-energy inputs. Ethanol therefore delivers a positive net energy gain, but the magnitude depends critically on feedstock, farming practices and processing technology.
A second consideration is energy density.
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Vehicle compatibility is another important issue. Ethanol readily absorbs moisture and can corrode certain metals while degrading older rubber seals and plastic components. Recognising these challenges, the government has mandated that vehicles manufactured from April 2023 onwards be compatible with E20 fuel. Newer engines incorporate improved materials and revised engine calibration, but millions of older two-wheelers, passenger cars and agricultural machines remain outside this category.
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Ethanol is often described as a low-carbon fuel because sugarcane absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide during growth. However, climate benefits must be assessed on a life-cycle basis, accounting for emissions from cultivation, fertiliser manufacture, irrigation, transport and processing. Efficiently produced sugarcane ethanol can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by roughly 50–70 per cent relative to petrol, particularly where bagasse supplies process energy. Grain-based ethanol generally delivers lower reductions of around 20–50 per cent. These benefits diminish substantially when production relies on diesel-powered irrigation, fossil-fuel-based distillation or excessive nitrogen fertiliser use.
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The most critical challenge, however, is water. Sugarcane is a very water-intensive crop.
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Heavily subsidised electricity currently encourages excessive groundwater extraction, while subsidised urea promotes overuse of nitrogen fertilisers. These subsidies reduce the apparent cost of sugarcane cultivation without reflecting its environmental costs. The consequence is not merely inefficient resource use but also the possibility that public subsidies inadvertently encourage ethanol production in regions where its true social cost is high. A more efficient approach would be to support farmers directly through income transfers while allowing electricity, irrigation water and fertiliser prices to better reflect their economic and environmental costs. Such reforms would encourage more judicious use of scarce resources, improve groundwater sustainability and naturally shift ethanol production towards regions and feedstocks with the highest net energy gains and the lowest life-cycle emissions. At the same time, investment in second-generation ethanol derived from agricultural residues and other non-food biomass should be accelerated to reduce pressure on land and water. READ MORE
Excerpt from Reuters:
- India started 20% ethanol in petrol in 2025, protests peaked this year
- Maruti, Mahindra privately discussed issue of fuel contamination
- Automakers tested more than 250 fuel samples in 21 Indian states
- Government says own tests found only four contamination cases
NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Hours after India made public assurances last week that its ethanol-blended petrol was safe, the country's main auto lobby withdrew a complaint about fuel contamination it had sent to the government a week earlier. The group said some figures needed more checks.
But separate communications between industry executives, reviewed by Reuters, showed that in the preceding days, top automakers Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS), opens new tab, Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), opens new tab and Mahindra (MAHM.NS), opens new tab discussed their concerns about contamination of petrol blended with 20% ethanol, called E20.
Their data compiled the most comprehensive fuel testing done by the industry since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government started rolling out E20 nationwide from last year to help curb pollution and cut oil imports.
With no other petrol available since April 1, consumer concerns have grown about the impact on vehicle performance.
The carmakers' emails show for the first time how they are privately worried about contaminants in E20, like chloride and moisture, which they say are hurting vehicles, even as they publicly back the government's rollout of the fuel.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) withdrew its July 28 letter on fuel contamination after a government and public uproar over the warning, saying "some numbers" need "authentication".
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The previously unreported industry data and emails reviewed by Reuters show "multiple" automakers had already conducted extensive tests by collecting over 250 fuel samples from pumps over a year from as many as 21 of India's 36 states and territories. They found high chloride contamination in many of the samples in 18 states, as well as high moisture content.
The executives' emails raised no concern about data authentication.
Asked for comment on the private emails, SIAM told Reuters the data was intended only for internal circulation, discussion and validation, and collected by "very few" automakers.
Maruti, Tata and Mahindra, who were part of the SIAM internal emails seen by Reuters, account for 67% of India's car market.
As "the testing basis and sample size were insufficient to support definitive conclusions, the communication was withdrawn" as it was sent inadvertently, SIAM said, adding it intends to undertake a proper scientific study. READ MORE
Excerpt from Reuters: India should bring back a fuel variant with a lower blend of ethanol, according to a top government adviser, the first senior official to call for wider fuel options amid growing consumer anger against a contentious policy change.
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"Restoring a lower blend at the pumps, say, E10, alongside the option to buy E20, would calm most public concern," India's Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said in an opinion piece, opens new tab in the Indian Express newspaper on Monday.
The piece was co-authored with Akash Poojari, a consultant in India's Department of Economic Affairs. They noted that their views were personal. It is, however, rare for top Indian officials to disagree publicly with a government position. READ MORE
Excerpt from Free Press Journal: Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has suggested restoring E10 petrol alongside E20 for older vehicles, citing compatibility concerns among millions of two-wheelers designed for lower ethanol blends. The ethanol industry opposes any rollback, arguing E20 supports energy security, reduces fossil-fuel imports and strengthens India’s domestic biofuel ecosystem
India’s transition to E20 petrol has sparked a fresh debate over whether older vehicles should be given access to a lower ethanol blend.
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has proposed allowing E10 petrol alongside E20, arguing that millions of older vehicles may not be suited to higher ethanol content.
In an op-ed in The Indian Express with co-author Akash Poojari, Nageswaran said India has an estimated 75-80 million two-wheelers designed for E10. Many of these vehicles were manufactured before higher ethanol blends became standard.
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According to Nageswaran, the concerns extend beyond fuel efficiency. Ethanol can affect components such as rubber seals and other parts of older fuel systems. Carburettor-based vehicles may also experience compatibility issues with higher ethanol blends.
He argued that making E10 available at fuel stations would give owners of older vehicles an alternative while newer vehicles continue using E20. Such a dual-fuel approach, he suggested, could protect the existing vehicle fleet until owners either retrofit or replace their vehicles.
Nageswaran also disputed claims that E20 causes a 30% reduction in fuel efficiency, saying the energy penalty should be around 6-7%. However, he acknowledged that ageing rubber components that were not designed for ethanol can deteriorate when exposed to the fuel.
India's ethanol programme is intended to reduce dependence on imported crude oil while creating demand for domestically produced ethanol. But the CEA also flagged the broader food-versus-fuel concerns associated with rising demand for ethanol feedstocks.
Ethanol industry rejects E10 rollback
The proposal has drawn opposition from the ethanol industry. Kushal Mittal, vice-president of the All India Distillers' Association, said India should not reconsider E20 based on public sentiment or perceptions. He argued that energy policy should instead be guided by scientific evidence, testing and data. READ MORE
Excerpt from Autocar India: Stephan Winkelmann on the India-EU FTA, the brand’s shelved EV, Revuelto SV and more.
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India-EU FTA hybrid uncertainty could pose a problem
A hot topic at the moment is the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) soon to come into effect, which promises to make imported cars a whole lot more affordable. While that’s great news for most super-sportscar brands, it’s not so for Lamborghini, as the India-EU FTA offers no clarity about benefits for hybrid cars, which make up the Italian brand’s entire range.
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Can ethanol-blended petrol work in Lamborghinis?
Regarding another hot topic in our country at the moment, Winkelmann responded to another question from Autocar India, suggesting that given the uncertainty around traditional fuels, blended biofuels were not off the table for Lamborghini.
“In Europe, we are extremely positive about it and are going to make a decision on biofuels soon,” he said, highlighting that any decision around the matter would have to start from its home region. “For us, this is a very important market, as you might know.”
He was quick to point out that the quality of fuel is what’s most important for any of Lamborghini’s models and their high-performance plug-in hybrid powertrains. While ethanol blending does increase the RON (Research Octane Number) of the fuel, it also depends on the petrol it is being blended with, which varies from market to market.
“They already exist, those fuels, but it always depends on how good they are. If you have a low octane, then you cannot use them for our type of cars. You have to have a minimum of 95 octane, and this is sometimes, with the few fuels around the globe, not available,” he stated, reiterating that such a decision would have to be globally compatible. “I don't know exactly how this is in India.”
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“We use the battery to create more boost and a better distribution of power output than only with the internal combustion engine. Also, together with the torque vectoring, the feeling of driving a car at speed is very much improved in comparison with the [purely] internal combustion engine guise of the past generations,” Winkelmann said.
Lamborghini customers don’t want EVs
That said, the engine is essential. Not long before rival Ferrari unveiled its first EV, the Luce, Lamborghini announced its decision to delay its own first electric offering, the Lanzador, which was scheduled to launch before 2030. The Lanzador – also a low-slung four-seat crossover – will now get a hybrid powertrain instead, as an EV would simply not be emotional enough for Lamborghini customers.
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He also stated that, Indian regulations aside, the brand’s all-PHEV line-up has proven to be a successful approach, at once helping meet prevailing and upcoming emissions regulations while also retaining the emotional appeal of an ICE engine that’s core to the brand.
“You have the sound, the vibration of an internal combustion engine, but you also have all the advantages of the new technology,” he said. “The combination of battery and internal combustion engine for us is not a transition period, but it’s really something which is here to stay.” READ MORE
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