Sugar farmers' cooperative body supports govt's ethanol blending programme, says it benefits farmers
In a social media post on Monday, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) dismissed concerns about the negative impact of ethanol-blended petrol (E20) on older vehicles, calling these worries unfounded. The ministry assured the public that E20 petrol does not cause significant damage to older vehicles.
The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) said it strongly supports the recent clarification issued by the MoPNG, which addresses the unfounded concerns raised about the impact of 20% ethanol-blended petrol on vehicles.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Govt seeks to allay concerns on E20, says no impact on insurance
India has achieved its target of mixing 20% ethanol with petrol nearly 10 months earlier than the 2025-26 deadline set by the government, but drivers appear to be wary of blended gasoline impacting engines and fuel economy of cars, especially older vehicles, concerns the petroleum ministry said are 'unfounded'. Many drivers have taken to social-media platforms of late, complaining about lower mileage with blended petrol and poorer drive quality. (ANI) Many drivers have taken to social-media platforms of late, complaining about lower mileage with blended petrol and poorer drive quality. There have been doubts if insurance and warranty were rendered void with using petrol with 20% ethanol, know as E20. The petroleum ministry on Tuesday clarified that blended petrol didn't invalidate vehicle insurance. Automobiles 'tuned' for E20 delivered better acceleration and drivability, the ministry said, adding that the government's high-priority ethanol-blending programme had substantially cut pollution and saved foreign exchange that goes into oil purchases. 'On most parameters, there are no issues,' the ministry said to quell growing consumer skepticism. Oil marketing companies achieved the E20 goal in July, after having reached 19.92% in the previous month, with an output of 66 billion litres of ethanol during 2024-25, official data show. Of this, 25.5 billion litres came from grains and the rest from molasses, a byproduct of sugar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in 2021 advanced the target of blending petrol with 20% ethanol by five years to 2025-26 to cut emissions and the nation's oil import bill. The strategy has saved India nearly ₹1.44 lakh crore in crude import costs between 2014 and 2024, according to official data, helping cut an estimated 54.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. In a social-media post on August 2, the ministry did say that ethanol, which is of lower energy density than petrol, resulted in a 'marginal decrease in mileage, estimated at 1–2% for four-wheelers designed for E10 and calibrated for E20, and around 3–6% in others'. The Centre had hastened the E20 programme with a raft of measures to help turn sugarcane molasses and grains, such as rice and maize, into ethanol, which is mixed 20 parts to 80 parts of petrol. Sugar mills were given soft loans to add distillation capacity to make ethanol. The government also allocated 5.2 million tonnes of surplus rice owned by the Food Corporation of India, each for 2024-25 and 2025-26, for ethanol production. It also allowed diversion of four million tonnes of sugar in 2024-25 and lowered the goods and services tax rate to 5% for ethanol used in the E20 programme. Fuel efficiency in older ICT (internal combustion engines) will naturally be lower due to E20 because ethanol has a lower energy content of about 21 megajoule (MJ) per litre against 34.2 MJ of pure petrol, said Santhosh K, a professor at the Manipal Institute of Technology. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, or Siam, has been working to ensure vehicles are compliant with E20 fuel, with material compliance starting in 2023 and full readiness by 2025-26. Under a government-mandated programme, automakers started producing vehicles with fuel components that can withstand wear and tear caused by ethanol. The ministry said 'replacement of some rubber parts/ gaskets could be advised in certain older vehicles after prolonged use of say 20,000 to 30,000 kms. This replacement is inexpensive and easily done during regular servicing of the vehicle'. On fuel economy, the ministry on Friday said mileage depended on factors beyond just fuel type, including driving habits and maintenance. Many aren't convinced. 'Sudden drop in mileage after filling at HCPL station. Government should also sell pure petrol, not just E20,' wrote Geeta M, a Banglorean, on X. Some consumers say the government should give an option to purchase pure unblended petrol, which the ministry has ruled out. The country had reached its goal of E10, or 10% ethanol blending, ahead of schedule in 2022. A decision on whether the blending programme would be ramped up will be taken only when an interministerial panel submits its report and wider consultations with stakeholders are held. 'There has been a period of over four years which has allowed vehicle technology to improve, supply chain to be calibrated and an overall eco-system developed,' the ministry said in response to demand by some consumers that pure petrol should also be available to drivers. 'The alternative of going back to E-0 petrol would involve losing the hard fought gains on pollution and the success achieved in energy transition,' the ministry said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
8 hours ago
- Business Standard
Bulk of Mercedes cars on road E20-compliant: MD & CEO Santosh Iyer
Bulk of Mercedes-Benz cars currently on Indian roads are E20-compliant and the luxury carmaker has been selling such models in the country since 2018, the firm's India Managing Director & CEO Santosh Iyer (pictured) told Business Standard in an interview. E20 compliance means that a vehicle's engine, fuel system, and emission-control components are designed and tested to operate safely on petrol blended with up to 20 per cent ethanol without causing damage. There have, however, been heightened social media discussions during the past few weeks about whether E20 fuel affects efficiency and engine performance. 'Mercedes Benz was the first in India to introduce a BS-6 compliant car. In August 2018, we introduced the new S class, which was BS-6 Gadkari (Union roads minister) himself flagged that car,' Iyer said, adding that all BS-6 compliant cars sold in India have been E20 compliant, too. The German carmaker has not tested the 'cars that were sold prior' to August 2018 for the impact of E20 fuel on their engines and fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, Iyer admitted that cars sold prior to 2018 might face a slight impact on performance due to E20 fuel, which is now being sold at fuel pumps. 'We have sold close to 200,000 cars in India in the past 30 years. However, the past 100,000 units were sold just in the past six years. The last 150,000 units were sold in the past 10 years. So, a bulk of the cars that we would have sold in India would be E20-compliant,' he noted. Iyer was talking to reporters on Tuesday night after launching the Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé — a high-performance, two-door luxury model — in India, with prices starting at ₹1.35 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). 'In 2024, we started getting the E20 certificates for our cars. So, in that sense, all our cars that we sell in India are fully compliant today on the E20,' he said. 'I think material compatibility (with E20 fuel) also remains for cars that we have sold earlier. But the fuel, and by the laws of physics and chemistry, you can say that if you have a lower or higher ethanol rating, the combustion process is different... I would say that you will definitely have a difference in performance,' he said. 'But today, the cars that we are currently selling have no change in performance because they are all compatible with the E20 fuel,' he pointed out. 'The cars that were sold many years back might have had a slight impact on the performance, but otherwise, I think the government's direction is clear and from April 2024, we started getting our cars certified as E20 compliant,' he noted. Mercedes-Benz, India's top luxury carmaker, started FY25-26 with its best-ever April–June sales, delivering 4,238 cars, a 10 per cent increase from last year.
India.com
8 hours ago
- India.com
Better Acceleration, Ride Quality, Environment-Friendly: Govt Allays Fears Over Ethanol-Blended Petrol
New Delhi: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas clarified on Tuesday that 20 per cent Ethanol Blended Petrol (E20) gives better acceleration, better ride quality and has lowered carbon emissions by approximately 30 per cent as compared to E10 fuel. The statement, issued to allay fears over mileage and vehicle life, further said that ethanol's higher octane number (about 108.5 compared to petrol's 84.4) makes ethanol-blended fuels a valuable alternative for higher-octane requirements that are crucial for modern high-compression engines. Vehicles tuned for E20 deliver better acceleration, which is a very important factor in city driving conditions. Additionally, ethanol's higher heat of vaporisation reduces intake manifold temperatures, increasing air-fuel mixture density and boosting volumetric efficiency, the statement said. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Brazil has been successfully running on E27 for years with zero issues. The same automakers, such as Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc., produce vehicles there too, the statement said. "Concerns related to performance and mileage being raised now were anticipated as early as 2020 by the government, and an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) of the NITI Aayog examined them at length. This was also backed by research studies carried out by Indian Oil Corporation, ARAI and SIAM," the statement said. Previously, petrol was being sold in India with a Research Octane Number (RON) of 88. Today, regular petrol in India has an RON of 91 to meet the requirements of BS-VI, which aims to reduce harmful emissions. However, this has again been improved further to RON 95 with blending of Ethanol 20, resulting in better anti-knocking properties and performance, the statement said. The critiques suggesting that E20 causes a "drastic" reduction in fuel efficiency are misplaced, the statement said, noting that vehicle mileage is influenced by a variety of factors beyond just fuel type. These include driving habits, maintenance practices such as oil changes and air filter cleanliness, tyre pressure and alignment, and even air conditioning load, it said. Extensive discussions have been carried out with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) as well as prominent manufacturers of vehicles. The efficiency drop (if any) in E10 vehicles has been marginal. For some manufacturers, vehicles have been E20 compatible from as far back as 2009. The question of any drop in fuel efficiency in such vehicles does not arise, the statement pointed out. Ethanol Blending is a national programme. Some seek to derail it by fomenting fear and confusion in the minds of car owners by selectively picking information and creating a false narrative that insurance companies will not cover car damage due to the use of E20 fuels. This fear-mongering is totally baseless and has been clarified by an insurance company whose tweet screenshot was deliberately misinterpreted to create fear and confusion. Usage of E20 fuel has no impact on the validity of insurance of vehicles in India, the statement contended. The alternative of going back to E20 Petrol would involve losing the hard-fought gains on pollution and the success achieved in energy transition, the statement said. The roadmap of the IMC has been in the public domain since 2021 and laid out a calibrated path to reaching E-20. Since then, there has been a period of over 4 years, which has allowed vehicle technology to improve, the supply chain to be calibrated, and an overall ecosystem to be developed, according to the statement. Moreover, safety standards for E20 are well established through BIS specifications and Automotive Industry Standards. In most parameters, including drivability, startability, metal compatibility, and plastic compatibility, there are no issues. Only in the case of certain older vehicles, some rubber parts and gaskets may require replacement earlier than in the case where non-blended fuel was used. This replacement is inexpensive and can be easily managed during routine servicing. It may need to be done once in the lifetime of the vehicle and is a simple process to be carried out at any authorised workshop, the statement said. The statement said that some concerns have been voiced that ethanol-blended petrol should be cheaper than non-blended fuel and that this cost advantage has not been passed on to the customers, noting that these are referring to a NITI Aayog report. In 2020-21, when the report was prepared, ethanol was cheaper than Petrol. Over time, the procurement prices of ethanol have increased, and now the weighted average price of ethanol is higher than the cost of refined petrol. Despite the increase in price of ethanol in comparison to petrol, the oil companies have not gone back on the ethanol blending mandate because the programme delivers on energy security, boosts farmers' incomes and environmental sustainability. In the meantime, automobile manufacturers continue to engage with vehicle owners to provide them with any support that may be warranted to ensure the optimum performance of vehicles. For a vehicle owner who believes that his/her vehicle may require further tuning or parts replacement, the entire network of authorised service stations is available to respond to such requests. There continue to be apprehensions about whether the country will go beyond E20 very rapidly, the statement said, adding that any move beyond E-20 requires careful calibration, for which extensive consultations are underway. This has involved the same vehicle manufacturers who are already in Brazil as well as other manufacturers, entities involved in the supply of feed stocks, R&D agencies, oil companies and ethanol producers. This process is yet to reach a conclusion. In the meantime, the current roadmap commits the government to E20 up to October 31, 2026. Decisions beyond this date will involve submission of the report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, evaluation of its recommendations, stakeholder consultations and a considered decision of the government in this regard. That decision is yet to be taken, the statement added.
