One has to appreciate the creative ways the government finds to extract money from the pockets of common people. The ethanol-blended petrol E10-E20, which is set to become E30 soon, is one of the magical tricks that the mandarins in the air-conditioned corridors of New Delhi have pulled on the unsuspecting public. They call ethanol-blended petrol a matter of physical prudence. They call it import substitution and green transition. It is a genius move if you own an ethanol blending factory. For everyone else, it is a disaster.
There has been a great public relations exercise by the concerned parties to justify this E20 and E30 push. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the PSUs it controls argue that ethanol possesses an exceptionally high Research Octane Number of 108.5 compared to regular petrol’s 84.4. In other words, they are giving us 95-octane petrol. According to official notes from trials conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the Indian Oil Corporation, this higher octane improves anti-knock properties, enhances acceleration, and increases volumetric efficiency due to a high latent heat of vaporisation, which cools the intake manifold. Furthermore, they cite life-cycle emission reductions of up to 30 per cent in carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon particulates. Having worked in the industry for close to a quarter of a century, I can vouch for all of these. There is also a huge foreign exchange gain of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore a year.
Like statistics, science can be used to tell some convenient truths while hiding many inconvenient ones. Ethanol is a powerful solvent and is highly hygroscopic. It actively draws moisture directly from the atmosphere. When this water-saturated fuel sits in a tank, it triggers a chemical phenomenon known as phase separation. The water and ethanol bind together, forming a heavy, highly acidic layer that sinks to the bottom of the fuel tank. In laboratory tests conducted by independent tribologists, this acidic mixture causes severe pitting corrosion in aluminium carburettor bodies and traditional steel tanks. Furthermore, ethanol degrades the polymer chains of standard elastomers. In older legacy fleets, and even in newer vehicles, it causes nitrile rubber fuel lines, fuel pump diaphragms, and O-rings to swell, harden, and crack. In layman’s terms, it means that if your vehicle was manufactured before 2023, you are in for a lot of nasty surprises.
The physics of combustion is equally damaging. As ethanol has roughly 33 per cent lower energy density than neat petrol, fuel consumption increases significantly. While controlled ARAI laboratory tests on rollers claim a modest two to six per cent drop in fuel efficiency compared to E10, real-world data from consumer surveys show that nearly half of legacy vehicle owners report severe mileage drops. High-ethanol fuel blends (like E30) affect engine temperatures in modern turbocharged cars. This can cause severe “engine knock”, that is, a violent, unpredictable explosion inside the engine that can shatter piston rings and damage cylinder heads. This significantly increases the frequency and severity of Low-Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI)—a violent, stochastic autoignition event that causes destructive end-gas knock, shattering piston rings, and damaging cylinder heads.
Another issue is rapidly shifting policies. Following the April 2023 mandate, automobile manufacturers were legally required to upgrade material specifications so that new vehicles sold in India could run on E20 fuel. Consumers adjusted, paying higher vehicle acquisition costs. Now, the Bureau of Indian Standards has already notified fuel standards for E22 to E30 blends. If the government suddenly forces E30 onto the pumps to meet aggressive agricultural blending targets, a vehicle purchased just this year that was built strictly to meet the E20 compliance norms becomes instantly vulnerable. The material engineering and electronic calibrations designed to withstand 20 per cent ethanol are not rated for 30 per cent. By shifting the goalposts mid-game, the state effectively retrofits obsolescence onto brand new assets, leaving recent buyers with no choice but to pump a non-compliant, damaging blend into their engines.
Now comes the insult to injury. Neither the insurers nor the vehicle manufacturers are ready to share the burden with the customer. When these corrosive blends inevitably dissolve the fuel pump or ruin the engine, where does the victim turn? The automobile manufacturers wash their hands of the matter, pointing to the fine print in their manuals. The fuel available in the market changes every few months at the whims of bureaucrats. Sometimes, E20, E22, E30, and so on. In other words, none of the vehicle engine warranties is technically valid, and you are at the mercy of the vehicle manufacturer the moment you have poured the government-approved fuel of the day. Even if you buy E22 or E30-guaranteed fuel today, the fuel available tomorrow could be E40 or anything in between or beyond.
The insurance companies loudly proclaim that using ethanol-blended fuel will not invalidate a motor insurance policy outright, knowing full well that their standard clauses explicitly exclude gradual wear and tear and consequential damage. The policy remains technically valid, but the moment a claim is filed for an ethanol-rotted fuel line or an LSPI-damaged piston, the corporate trap snaps shut. The claim is denied because the corrosion induced by your ethanol fuel is normal wear and tear. The cost of all this damage is passed on to us. The profit is all for the corporations to make.
The millions of delivery riders, daily wagers, and middle-class commuters who keep this country moving were never invited to the negotiation table. They are ignored and expected to bear the burden without complaint. The common man is paying the exact same exorbitant, heavily taxed price per litre, but he is buying diluted energy. It is a state-sanctioned pickpocketing. The government saves billions in foreign exchange, the massive sugar conglomerates, and distillery barons line their pockets with guaranteed state-backed pricing, the vehicle manufacturers get away, and insurance companies make merry. The ordinary driver pays more money to travel shorter distances. And this will result in more demand for imported fuel and more bleeding of precious foreign exchange.
The common man in India is already suffocating under a mountain of financial extractions. He pays a 15-year upfront road tax just to register a vehicle, navigates an endless gauntlet of toll plazas on broken roads, and bears a crushing weight of central and state duties levied on every single drop of fuel. When adjusted for purchasing power parity, Indians pay some of the highest fuel prices in the world. To slip a damaging, inefficient fuel blend into the pumps under the guise of national progress, while stripping away manufacturing accountability and insurance protection, is a profound betrayal of trust.
A bicycle is a wonderful choice, as it protects the environment, your health, and precious foreign exchange for our beloved country. But since it doesn’t fatten cronies’ pockets, it may not be patriotic enough. So, like most things in the country, let our vehicles be ‘Ram bharose’ too.
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