Go easy on ethanol push

Blended auto fuel policy is causing trouble, it needs to change

Alok Tiwari

Social media these days is awash with stories of disasters allegedly caused by use of ethanol-blended petrol in vehicles. There are reports of vehicles breaking down mid-trip, refusing to start, showing rise in fuel consumption, videos of clogged injectors and corroded fuel tanks and exhaust pipes. Ethanol blending is now part of a growing list of embarrassments for the ruling BJP along with NEET question paper leak and Ram Mandir donations theft.

There is little doubt that government has rushed through the ethanol blending. The original target for achieving blending of 20% ethanol in petrol was 2030. Thanks to a personal push by highways minister Nitin Gadkari, that was achieved five years earlier. Now most of the petrol sold across the country is E20. Government was ready to go for E25 and eventually to even E85 as it pressured automakers to come up with vehicles that can run on flex fuels. It wisely halted the move following popular backlash.

Like many others, policy too has not been thought through and is being implemented in an authoritarian manner. The government is unable to provide any kind of data on long-term use of E20 petrol on vehicles. RTI queries by citizens have been refused in the name of confidentiality. In courts, the government has said the studies are still ongoing. Then on what basis was the policy implemented? It has not helped that Gadkari’s sons are in the ethanol business. What was hitherto presented as a move to reduce carbon emissions, save foreign exchange, and benefit farmers got tainted with his personal financial interests.

The policy has brought a windfall for ethanol makers, mostly the sugar factories. They now have a lucrative secondary revenue stream. It has also benefited sugarcane farmers to some extent as thanks to rising ethanol prices, sugar factories are able to clear farmers’ dues on time. The cane price has also more or less kept pace with rising ethanol prices.

On the receiving end are the vehicle users, particularly those having older vehicles. They are suffering the downsides like higher maintenance cost and reduced mileage. They also must deal with variable fuel quality as ethanol blending takes place at depot level where quality control can be uneven. They have also not seen the promised benefit by way of lower price. Gadkari has been announcing cheaper petrol with blending for a decade while prices have only gone up.

Automakers are modifying engines for blended fuel. But they have acted as per scheduled announced. Government’s accelerating the blending has meant most vehicles on road are not ready for even E20 fuel, much less for higher blends. This is likely to remain so for many years as Indians tend to use vehicles for very long periods. The scrappage policy for older vehicles has not made much of a dent as incentives offered are negligible compared to price of new vehicles.

There are also other concerns. Farm experts have been underlining the high water requirement for crops like sugarcane, rice, corn etc from which ethanol can be made. It has been said it takes 10,000 litres of water to make every litre of ethanol. This can ben very concerning for a water-stressed country like India. The uncertain monsoon this year owing to a super El Nino has further underlined the danger. Besides, diverting acreage from food crops or even increasing their non-food use also endangers country’s food security. Can we really afford to make ethanol at the expense of drinking water and food?

Assuming, however, that these aspects have been taken care of and there is plenty of ethanol for use as automotive fuel, the policy still needs modification. Now that Gadkari is talking about blending even diesel with isobutanol derived from ethanol, the modifications need to happen now. First, it is wrong to push the blended fuel down everybody’s throat. Owners of older vehicles not designed for it should be able to buy pure petrol or diesel. There must be a sprinkling of outlets in every city that sell pure fuels. Second, some of the promised financial benefit of blending must be passed on vehicle owners, which has not happened at all. Blended fuel should be significantly cheaper to make up for loss of mileage and higher maintenance costs. It will be good incentive for its adoption too.

If all this is too much to manage, then the government can leave the automotive sector alone entirely. In any case, personal vehicles are rapidly being electrified. This means use of less fossil fuels as years go by. Blending ethanol here will progressively offer lower benefits. Instead, government can think of utilizing ethanol in aviation sector. Unlike road vehicles, planes are a long way from flying on electricity. India is among the fastest growing aviation markets. Ethanol is already used in making sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). With some technological and regulatory push, the government can make its use more widespread. Just making government’s own aircraft— civil and military— switch to SAF will make a big difference.

It will help aviation industry not just in India but globally become less carbon intensive, which is the declared goal of airlines as well as aircraft makers and towards which there is no clear technological route map. Unlike personal vehicles, planes undergo frequent and thorough technical checking. So, any downside or maintenance related issue arising out of SAF use will be quickly noticed and expertly dealt with. Government should push use of ethanol for power generation, particularly for big diesel generators or in captive power plants of industries. Industrial users are better placed to handle the technical fallouts than ordinary vehicle owners.

Doing this maintains all the ecological and economic advantages of replacing fossil fuels with ethanol while sparing the common people of the headaches arising out of its use. Everybody— farmers, ethanol makers, vehicle users, and government— comes out a winner.

A version of this column appeared in Lokmat Times on July 9, 2026