Overview
- The government has made E20 petrol, which contains 20% ethanol, mandatory nationwide, and a committee of senior officials is now assessing whether to raise blending levels and how to channel surplus supplies, the Food Secretary said.
- Officials are considering ethanol-based cook stoves near distilleries once rules are updated, positioning the fuel as a cooking option during stressed LPG supply routes.
- Sugar exports may be capped if approved quotas go unused so that excess sugar can be diverted to ethanol, with any remainder carried as closing stock, according to Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra.
- Installed ethanol capacity is about 2,000 crore litres a year versus roughly 1,100–1,350 crore litres needed for E20, and the sugar industry is urging a move to E22 along with policies to scale flex‑fuel cars.
- Higher ethanol blends can lower fuel economy and raise maintenance needs in older engines, with tests citing around 2–6% mileage drops in newer E20‑ready vehicles and up to about 10–12% in older or less optimised models.