The goal of greater sustainability is admirable; lining the long road to it with confusing policy pointers is not. India’s biofuel mission started almost a quarter century ago with a pilot programme. Soon after, a target for introducing a 20 percent ethanol blend (E20) in diesel by 2011-12 was declared. Revisions in 2009 and 2018 kept pushing back the deadline. In 2022, the government changed the 2018 policy to advance the year of full-scale E20 introduction by four years to 2025-26.
Today, almost all of the country’s 90,000-odd petrol stations are pumping only E20 fuel, making drivers irate at the lack of choice and worried at the possible damage to their cars.
The technology speaks for itself. The energy outputs of blends such as E10, E20 and E27 differ, offering lower mileage and brake power than unblended fuel. There are also worries about metal corrosion, deteriorating rubber components, clogged injectors, and water absorption— adding up to shortened lives for car systems not built for such blends.
What makes matters costlier for owners is that the insurance industry has not yet taken cognisance of the new damage threats, which need to be factored in and paid for.
The government has brushed aside the complaints, pointing to the greater good in reducing air pollution and the nation’s substantial fuel import bill. The Supreme Court also recently dismissed a plea to reconsider the rollout and offer other fuel options.
A disruption was inevitable given the yawning distance between the off-now-on-again policy and public apathy for it. What’s questionable is the manner of the rollout—without working with the industry and consumers to phase it in.
In contrast, Brazil, which pioneered ethanol blending in the 1970s, pushed the policy with price incentives, tax breaks and communication campaigns that made the switch economically attractive and easily understandable. The other legitimate question is over price.
In December 2017, the transport minister had promised that fuel would be much cheaper when blended. Well, the benchmark crude price today is hovering at about the same level as when he made the claim; yet, retail fuel is about a fifth costlier.
Surely something has got to give. The government cannot force down a bitter pill without clearly explaining why it’s required, administering it slowly, and keeping the promise to sweeten it—even if it’s for the greater good.