Govt seeks to allay concerns on E20, says no impact on insurance

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

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.