Overview
- Public anger has moved offline with Team Bharat staging a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Sunday that organisers say will go ahead despite Delhi Police asking for a 200-person cap.
- The government and major automakers say years of lab and field testing show E20 does not damage engines and that any mileage loss is modest in older cars, which they estimate at about a 3 to 3.5 percent drop.
- A LocalCircles survey of 22,567 petrol vehicle owners found 53 percent rate the rollout ineffective or disastrous and 66 percent of pre-2023 owners report more than a 10 percent fall in mileage, driving calls for fuel choice options.
- Mechanics and drivers in Shillong report frequent stalling, fouled spark plugs, clogged fuel filters and 15–20 percent drops in mileage on steep, humid routes, citing ethanol’s tendency to absorb moisture as a likely cause.
- The Centre has issued fact checks saying no offer to export E20 to Bhutan was made and that using approved E20 will not void vehicle insurance or manufacturer warranties while noting the EBP began in 2018 and India reached the E20 target in December 2025.