Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that the government will not increase the percentage of ethanol in petrol beyond 20% as of now. Puri, while speaking at KPMG ENRich 2025 event, also mentioned that the government will assess the current impact of 20% ethanol blending in petrol before deciding on any further increase. “We had the current target of 20% for which the target date was 2030, and we have done it six years in advance. I will put a full stop there,” said Puri.
The government’s decision to add 20% ethanol to petrol has faced backlash on social media, with many people complaining about decreased fuel efficiency and mileage following the rollout of E20 across the country. However, the minister refuted such claims and said that the ecosystem is absorbing all these changes.
“We will now assess where we have to go. All the stories you hear that we are going to do another leapfrogging, we have to come to those conclusions when the ecosystem is absorbing all this,” Puri said.
Discussing the journey of ethanol blending, the minister said that the country achieved 1.4% ethanol blending in petrol in 2014 and reached 10% in November 2022, five months ahead of the scheduled target. He said this effort aligns with the government’s broader sustainability goals.
The ministry recently highlighted that ethanol blending since 2014-15 has saved over ₹1.40 lakh crore in foreign exchange, ensured payments of more than ₹1.20 lakh crore to farmers, and reduced lakhs of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea challenging the nationwide rollout of E20 and seeking ethanol-free petrol.
On green hydrogen, Puri expressed optimism that India will achieve price competitiveness, saying he was confident that India will be able to bring down the price of green hydrogen to below $3/kilogram.