Overview

• At the SIAM annual convention, the road transport minister said social media attacks on the ethanol-blended petrol rollout were funded efforts to target him.
• He pointed to the Supreme Court’s recent dismissal of a PIL against E20 and said ARAI and other testing bodies had found no evidence of engine harm.
• Government messaging continues to call any mileage loss from E20 marginal, even as owners report drops and experts flag greater risks for some older vehicles.
• He outlined broader fuel plans, highlighting trials of isobutanol with diesel, a push to use methanol, and work toward a 10% biodiesel target.
• He tied the policy to reducing a ₹22 lakh crore fossil-fuel import bill and boosting farmer incomes, and urged GST incentives linked to scrappage after nearly three lakh vehicles were scrapped.