New Delhi,MAR 20
The Union government is planning to increase the blending of 20 per cent ethanol in petrol from 2030, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum Suresh Gopi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The National Policy on Biofuels – 2018, as amended in 2022, inter-alia advanced the target of 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol to Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26 from 2030.Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) achieved the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol in June 2022 i.e. five months ahead of the target during ESY 2021-22. The blending of ethanol further increased to 12.06 per cent in ESY 2022-23, 14.60 per cent in ESY 2023-24 and 17.98 per cent in ESY 2024-25 upto 28th February 2025.
So far, the government has not decided to increase ethanol blending beyond 20 per cent, according to a release by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas that quotes the MoS.
According to the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25, prepared by an inter-ministerial committee, using 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol (E20) results in marginal reduction in fuel efficiency for four-wheelers designed for E10 and calibrated for E20.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) informed the committee that engine hardware and tuning modifications can reduce the efficiency loss due to blended fuel.
As per the MoS reply, the committee report has also highlighted that no major issues were observed in vehicle performance, wear of engine components, or engine oil deterioration with E20 fuel.
The National Policy on Biofuels permits the use of food grains during the surplus phase, as declared by the National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
