PANAJI: Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the Centre has no immediate plan to increase the ethanol blending in petrol beyond the current 20 per cent.
During an interaction at the inauguration of the 29th Energy Technology and Innovation Meet in South Goa, Puri also claimed that misinformation was being spread about biofuels.
Misinformation about E20 (20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol) was a “contrived narrative,” he said.
“In so far biofuels are concerned, yes, the 20 per cent (of ethanol blending) was the target, and there is no desire, just now, to increase by more than 20 per cent,” he said to a question on discussions around E20 fuel, adding that misinformation was being spread about the issue.
The government has been promoting ethanol-blended petrol as part of its strategy to reduce dependence on imported crude oil, one of the biggest contributors to its current account deficit. The country has already rolled out E20 fuel, containing 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol.
The three-day meet themed on ‘Accelerating Energy Innovation From Research to Commercialisation’ was inaugurated in South Goa’s Betul village. The event is organised by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Puri said he saw a social media post which claimed that vehicles had stopped and were facing breakdowns, implying that the government stopped selling the blended fuel.
He said (compliant) vehicles are meant for E20 blended fuel. “There was some problem with the older vehicles which were manufactured before 2003,” he pointed out.
The Union minister said the introduction of E20 petrol helped the Union government save Rs 1,60,000 crore, of which Rs 1,40,000 crore was given back to farmers.
“The farmers have become Urjadata (giver of energy) from Annadata (giver of food),” he commented.
Asked about problems reported by the E20 fuel users, Puri said, “I think there was a problem with the transportation of the blended fuel. The tankers which were used for transportation were also used for other things.”
“As far as the engine damage story is concerned, someone had made the claim and the particular automobile manufacturer has filed a case against him,” he said.
The minister said the misinformation about the E20 (fuel) was a “contrived narrative”.
“Six crore vehicles go to the dispensing stations every day. If engine damage was caused, you could have seen the vehicles all over the place,” he added.
Notably, the Road Transport Ministry on Monday notified changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, allowing flex-fuel vehicles that can run on up to E100 (nearly pure ethanol).
E100 fuel allows vehicles to run on nearly pure ethanol.
Flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on higher ethanol blends such as E85 (85 per cent ethanol, 15 per cent petrol) and E100 (near 100 per cent ethanol), unlike conventional petrol vehicles currently approved for lower ethanol concentrations.
Major automakers, including Toyota Motor Corporation, Tata Motors, and Hyundai Motor Company, are also developing flex-fuel vehicles for the Indian market as policymakers push to reduce the country’s fossil fuel import bill.
