India Achieves E20 Target Five Years Early, Says Hardeep Singh Puri
Puri also outlined plans for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), with a blending mandate of 1 per cent for international flights by 2027 and 2 per cent by 2028
India has achieved its target of 20 per cent ethanol blending (E20) in petrol five years ahead of schedule, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced at the Pioneer Biofuels 360 Summit on Friday, calling the country’s ethanol journey ‘unstoppable.’
Ethanol blending, which stood at just 1.53 per cent in 2014, touched 10 per cent in 2022 five months before the deadline and has now reached 20 per cent in the current Ethanol Supply Year (ESY). The original E20 goal for 2030 had been advanced to 2025.
Puri credited the achievement to policy measures such as guaranteed ethanol pricing, approval of multiple feedstocks, and rapid expansion of distillation capacity. He dismissed concerns about E20’s impact on engines, noting that no failures had been reported since it became the base fuel 10 months ago, citing Brazil’s long-standing E27 use as precedent.
Highlighting its benefits, Puri said E20 blending has cut greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality, enhanced engine performance, and saved over Rs. 1.4 lakh crore in foreign exchange. Ethanol procurement since 2014 has generated Rs. 1.21 lakh crore for farmers, reduced crude imports by 238.68 lakh metric tonne, and created green jobs.
Maize based ethanol has seen a dramatic rise from zero in 2021-22 to 42 per cent this year, alongside the growth of 2G ethanol refineries in Panipat and Numaligarh converting crop residues like parali and bamboo into fuel.
On the automotive front, Indian manufacturers have rolled out prototypes for E85-compatible flex-fuel vehicles, with plans to move towards E25, E27, and E30 blending in a phased manner.
Puri also outlined plans for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), with a blending mandate of 1 per cent for international flights by 2027 and 2 per cent by 2028, citing innovations such as using used cooking oil for SAF production at Indian Oil’s Panipat refinery.
“Ethanol blending is not just about fuel, it’s about turning Annadatas into Urjadatas, cutting imports, saving foreign exchange, and honouring our climate commitments,” Puri said, dismissing attempts by vested interests to derail the programme.
