Centre rejects reports that E20 is an ‘experiment’ after Supreme Court hearing

New Delhi: The Union government has denied media accounts suggesting it described the 20% ethanol-blended petrol (E20) programme as an “experiment” during a Supreme Court hearing, saying such reports misrepresented Attorney General R. Venkataramani’s submissions.

The Ministry of Law and Justice called the coverage “completely false” and said the AG never labelled the national blending drive experimental. The clarification followed a petition by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), which challenged a Karnataka High Court direction on ethanol allocations for the 2025 26 supply year. The Karnataka bench had asked oil marketing companies to consider a distillery’s request for increased ethanol allocation before finalising supply tenders — an order BPCL argued could upset already finalised contracts and complicate the E20 rollout.

At the Supreme Court, the attorney general informed the bench that multiple high courts were hearing similar disputes over ethanol allocations and that transfer petitions would be filed to consolidate those matters before the apex court and prevent inconsistent rulings. The top court took note and urged filing of the transfer pleas, while ordering that existing allocation arrangements remain unchanged for the current supply year.

India achieved its 20% ethanol blending target in July 2025, ahead of schedule, under a policy to cut fossil-fuel reliance, lower emissions and boost farm incomes. Still, some motorists have complained of engine trouble and reduced fuel efficiency with the higher ethanol mix, and analyses indicate only a minority of petrol cars sold in recent years are E20-compatible. The government points to tests by the Automotive Research Association of India, cited by Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, which found no engine failures or notable performance problems in older vehicles run on E20.