Overview
- Arvind Kejriwal intensified his public attack on Thursday, saying the Centre’s ethanol policy has shifted sugarcane into fuel production and triggered a steep rise in retail sugar prices.
- Kejriwal claimed sugar rose from about Rs 46 per kg to Rs 65 per kg in 17 days, a specific price trajectory that reporters attribute to him and that has limited independent sourcing.
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas responded that E20 underwent extensive testing and said real‑world vehicle mileage depends on driving habits, maintenance, tyre pressure and traffic rather than fuel blend alone.
- News reports say the government is weighing short‑term measures such as limited sugar imports and tighter stockholding limits to ease supplies ahead of the festival season, but no formal decision has been announced.
- Ethanol blending was promoted to cut crude imports by using bioethanol from sugarcane, a shift that can reduce sugar for food use and affect consumers and farmers, and AAP is pressing for public disclosure of compatibility tests and an option to buy conventional petrol while alleging social‑media removals and FIRs for critics.