The 20% ethanol-blended petrol (E20) has become the only fuel sold at India's 90,000 petrol pumps at the end of last year, triggering a renewed public uproar that has intensified with political intervention. Opposition politician Arvind Kejriwal has now written to 29 automobile manufacturers seeking written clarification on E20 fuel safety, giving them seven days to respond to his allegations. Kejriwal addressed a press conference stating there is a 'contradiction between your two positions', pointing out that company representatives at the July 4 briefing claimed switching to E20 would cause only a slight dip in mileage of 4-5%, while owners' manuals issued by the same companies caution against using petrol with more than 10% ethanol content in vehicles manufactured before 2023. Kejriwal has written to major automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, and Hero MotoCorp, as per letters posted on social media, demanding clarity on whether their vehicles are E20 compliant and who would bear the cost if vehicles were damaged as a result of the fuel's nationwide rollout.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has questioned the sudden emergence of a 'controversy' around ethanol-blended fuels, arguing that E20 petrol has already been in use in the country for nearly two years. As per Business Standard, Puri said 'Look closely at the timeline, and the pattern becomes difficult to ignore. India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil and accounts for 30 per cent of oil demand growth globally'. The minister emphasized that 'India took a significant step towards reducing that dependence by launching E85 fuel for flex-fuel vehicles, priced around ₹20 per litre lower than regular E20 petrol, along with the introduction of flex-fuel cars and motorcycles on June 5'. Puri stated that more than 200 million two-wheelers and 2 million four-wheelers have been running on E20 fuel for nearly two years without major issues, yet 'as India accelerated its journey towards greater energy self-reliance, opposition to ethanol blending suddenly intensified'. The minister argued that 'it is worth asking: who benefits if India remains dependent on imported crude oil or batteries'.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued a comprehensive response to widespread concerns about E20 petrol, rejecting the widely made claim of a 30% drop in mileage due to the fuel. According to the government statement, the 30% figure refers only to ethanol's lower calorific value compared to petrol, not to a drop-in real-world mileage. The ministry cited Maruti Suzuki data, stating that for a car delivering 20 km per litre, the drop could be around 0.6 km per litre, indicating the actual impact is much smaller than commonly claimed. The government emphasized that mileage depends on driving habits, tyre pressure, servicing and AC load far more than fuel type, with extensive testing by SIAM, ARAI and IOCL together with vehicle makers showing no widespread pattern of engine failure linked to E20. Unlike countries such as Brazil, where customers can choose between different fuel options with varying ethanol levels, Indian consumers get the fuel available at petrol pumps without separate choices.
The E20 rollout has revealed a critical compatibility crisis, with vehicle owners demanding choice as they have no option to buy unblended petrol if they prefer. Reports from Moneycontrol indicate that a fuel tank flap and user manual of an Audi Q3 purchased in 2024 in India showed it recommended only E5 and E10 fuel, while the fuel tank of a 2024 Mahindra Scorpio SUV was pasted with a warning sticker: 'CAUTION. PETROL/E10 FUEL ONLY'. Mahindra said in a statement that its E20-compliant vehicles could use the fuel, but it did not address what would happen with older cars. The controversy highlights the hasty rollout of E20 fuel replaced E10 nationwide in 2025, well ahead of its 2030 deadline, even though E20-compliant cars only began hitting the roads in 2023. While countries like Brazil have paced ethanol blend increases over decades, the U.S. has capped its standard blend at E10 and sells higher blends only as an option for compatible vehicles, contrasting sharply with India's approach.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has confirmed that India's Ethanol Blending Programme is scientifically validated, rigorously tested, and continuously monitored in consultation with oil marketing companies, automakers, fuel testing agencies, and other stakeholders. The ministry emphasized that no incidents of engine failure or vehicle breakdown had been linked to E20 petrol since its rollout, with thorough testing conducted at each stage of implementation. Fuel-grade ethanol is produced through industrial processes such as fermentation and distillation and does not resemble its original agricultural feedstock, made from multiple sources including sugarcane juice, molasses, broken rice, and maize, and must meet fuel-quality standards before being blended with petrol. The government stated that E20 was cleared 'only after extensive testing by SIAM, ARAI and IOCL together with vehicle makers', with Maruti Suzuki's service data for 28.4 million vehicles in 2025-26 showing no E20-related damage despite having more than 15 million vehicles over three years old that were not E20-certified. The ministry's 10-point clarification also confirmed that E20 raises the effective octane rating of Indian petrol to around 95, improving combustion in modern engines, with vehicles calibrated for E20 delivering better acceleration, smoother performance and lower emissions.
The government has maintained its defence of the ethanol blending programme, citing substantial benefits for the country. India achieved 20% ethanol blending in petrol in 2025-26, five years ahead of schedule, with blending increasing from less than 1.5% in 2013-14 to 20% in 2025-26. The programme has contributed to foreign exchange savings of more than ₹1.9 lakh crore and expedited payments exceeding ₹1.6 lakh crore to farmers since 2014-15. Additionally, the programme has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by around 930 lakh metric tonnes and displaced over 310 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil imports since 2014-15. Currently, E20 petrol is available at more than 77,000 petrol pumps nationwide, all of which strictly adhere to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms. Close to 20 crore two-wheelers running on petrol and 20 lakh four-wheelers running on petrol are already using ethanol blended petrol, as per government officials. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed amending rules for wider use of higher ethanol blends (E85, E100) and alternative fuels like B100 biodiesel and hydrogen-CNG. However, the ethanol industry faces challenges with distilleries creating capacity of around 20 billion litres while oil marketing companies require only about 11-12 billion litres annually to meet current targets, leading to surplus capacity and legal disputes over lower ethanol offtake.
