‘India should aim to achieve 100% ethanol blending’

New Delhi

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said India should aspire to achieve 100% ethanol blending in the near future, as vulnerabilities in oil exports amid the West Asia crisis have made it necessary for the country to become self-reliant in the energy sector.

Gadkari further said the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency III standards, which will be implemented from April 1 next year, will have little impact on electric and flex-fuel vehicles.

"In the near future, India should aspire to achieve 100% ethanol blending. Today, we are facing an energy crisis due to the war in West Asia, so it is necessary for us to become self-reliant in the energy sector," he said, while addressing the Indian Federation of Green Energy's Green Transport Conclave on Tuesday.

In 2023, PM Modi launched petrol blended with 20% ethanol. Currently, Indian vehicles can run on E20 petrol with minor changes to the engine to prevent corrosion and other issues. Countries like Brazil have 100% ethanol blending.

Gadkari said India relies on imports to meet 87% of its oil requirement. "We import fossil fuels worth ₹22 lakh crore, which is also causing pollution, so we need to work on increasing production of alternative fuel and bio-fuel," he said.