Lok Sabha Question No. 722 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-04
Subject: Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal, Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind, Shri Shankar Lalwani, Shri Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Shri Basavaraj Bommai, Shri Arun Govil, Shri Pradeep Kumar Singh, Shri Amar Sharadrao Kale, Shri Rahul Singh Lodhi, Dr. Bhola Singh, Shri Shivmangal Singh Tomar, Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade, Shri Manoj Tiwari, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Shri Sunil Kumar, Shri Anil Firojiya, Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Shri Ashish Dubey, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Shri Khagen Murmu

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No.722

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04 th  December, 2025

## ETHANOL BLENDED PETROL PROGRAMME

## 722.  SHRI MUKESHKUMAR CHANDRAKAANT DALAL:

DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND:

SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:

SHRI SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA:

SHRI BASAVARAJ BOMMAI:

SHRI ARUN GOVIL:

SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI AMAR SHARADRAO KALE:

SHRI RAHUL SINGH LODHI:

DR. BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI SHIVMANGAL SINGH TOMAR:

SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

SHRI SUNIL KUMAR:

SHRI ANIL FIROJIYA:

SMT. KAMALJEET SEHRAWAT:

SHRI ASHISH DUBEY:

DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT:

SHRI KHAGEN MURMU:

## पेĚोͧलयम और Ĥाक ृ Ǔतक गैस मंğी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the progress made so far under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme and the current level of ethanol blending in the country;
- (b)  the measures taken to ensure consistent availability of feedstock and infrastructure for ethanol production;
- (c)  whether the Government has conducted any study to assess the impact of E20 fuel on vehicle performance, efficiency and environmental sustainability, if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  the steps taken to ensure that the transition to higher ethanol blending benefit both farmers and consumers and to maintain fuel quality standards for alleviating the concerns of the people; and
- (e)  whether the Government proposes to set up any ethanol plant in Paschim Champaran district of Bihar which has four sugar mills, ample availability of raw materials, land and the presence of all  favourable  conditions  required  for  setting  up  of  an  ethanol  plant  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

पेĚोͧलयम और Ĥाक ृ Ǔतक गैस मंğालय मɅ राÏय मंğी ( Įी सुरेश गोपी )

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

(a):  The Government has been promoting blending of ethanol in petrol under the Ethanol Blended Petrol  (EBP)  Programme  wherein  Public  Sector  Oil  Marketing  Companies  (OMCs)  sell  ethanol blended with petrol. Under Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, ethanol blending in petrol has increased from 38 crore litres in Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2013-14 to more than 1000 crore litres in  ESY  2024-25,  thereby  achieving  an  average  blending  of  19.24%  ethanol  in  Petrol  during  ESY 2024-25. During the month of October, 2025, Ethanol blending of 19.97% has been achieved.

(b): In order to ensure consistent availability of feedstock and infrastructure for ethanol production in India  to  achieve  20%  Ethanol  blending  target  by  the  Ethanol  Supply  Year  (ESY)  2025-26  under Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, Government have taken several steps to promote ethanol production  in India  which inter-alia includes expansion  of  feedstock  for  Ethanol  production, administered  price  mechanism  for  Ethanol  procurement  under  the  Ethanol  Blended  Petrol  (EBP) Programme,  lowered  GST  rate  to  5%  for  Ethanol  for  EBP  Programme,  introduction  of  various Ethanol  Interest  Subvention  Schemes  (EISS)  during  2018-22,  a  dedicated  subvention  scheme  for Cooperative Sugar Mills to convert existing sugarcane-based distilleries into multi-feedstock plants for  ethanol  production  from  molasses  as  well  as  grains,  signing  of  233  Long  Term  Offtake Agreements  (LTOAs)  between  OMCs  and  Dedicated  Ethanol  Plants  which  has  increased  the country's annual ethanol distillation capacity to more than 1950 crore litres, approval by Government for allocation of 52 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) of surplus Food Corporation of  India (FCI) rice for ethanol production, each for the ESY 2024-25 (from 1 st November 2024 to 31 st October 2025) and ESY  2025-26,  diversion  of  40  LMT  of  sugar  for  ethanol  production  for  the  ESY  2024-25  and unrestricted production of ethanol from sugarcane juice/sugar syrup, B-Heavy Molasses as well as CHeavy Molasses for ESY 2025-26,  notified the 'Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana' to provide financial assistance for setting up Advanced Biofuels  projects  in  the  country  using  lignocellulosic  biomass  and  other  renewable  feedstock, multimodal transportation of ethanol to enhance availability of ethanol and increasing ethanol storage capacity along with other allied infrastructure for handling of higher blends of ethanol.

(c) & (d): According to the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25, prepared by an interministerial committee, using 20% ethanol-blended petrol (E20) results in marginal reduction in fuel efficiency  for  four-wheelers  designed  for  E10  and  calibrated  for  E20.  The  Society  of  Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had informed the committee that with modifications in engine hardware  and  tuning,  the  efficiency  loss  due  to  blended  fuel  can  be  reduced.  The  Roadmap  for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25 has not identified any negative impact on engine health due to blending of ethanol in petrol up to E20. A study on life cycle emissions of Ethanol done by NITI Aayog has said that GHG emissions in case of use of sugarcane and maize based Ethanol are less by 65% and 50%, respectively than those of petrol.

The use of E-20 gives better acceleration, better ride quality and most importantly, lowered carbon emissions by approximately 30% as compared to E10 fuel. Ethanol's higher-octane number (~108.5  compared  to  petrol's  84.4)  makes  Ethanol-blended  fuel  à  valuable  alternative  for  higheroctane  requirements  that  is  crucial  for  modern  high-compression  engines.  Vehicles  tuned  for  E20 deliver better acceleration which is a very important factor in city driving conditions. Additionally, Ethanol's  higher  heat  of  vaporization  reduces  intake  manifold  temperatures,  increasing  air-fuel mixture  density  and  boosting  volumetric  efficiency.  Further,  E20  results  in  better  anti  knocking properties  and  performance.  Also,  safety  standards  for  E20  are  well  established  through  BIS specifications and Automotive  Industry  Standards. In most  parameters including drivability, startability, metal compatibility, plastic compatibility, there are no issues.

The  concerns  associated  to  the  usage  of  E20  fuels  have  been  duly  addressed  through appropriate  channels  in  line  with  this  Ministry's  response  issued  through  the  PIB  release  dated 12.08.2025 and the Joint Press Release issued by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the Automotive Research Association of India, and the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry on 30.08.2025.

EBP  Programme  has  resulted  in  expeditious  payment  to  farmers  to  a  tune  of  over  Rs. 1,36,300  crores from Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2014-15 up to October 2025, besides savings of more than  Rs.  1,55,000  crore  of  foreign  exchange,  net  CO2  reduction  of  approximately  790  lakh metric tonne and substitution of more than 260 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil.

(e) Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has informed that there are 19 ethanol plants of  capacity  3100  kilo  litre  per  day  (KLPD)  located  in  the  State  of  Bihar  who  are  registered  with Public  Sector  OMCs  for  supply  of  denatured  ethanol  under  the  EBP  Programme.  Out  of  these,  3 ethanol plants of capacity 360 KLPD are situated in Paschim Champaran district and all of them can utilize sugarcane-based feedstocks for ethanol production. Additionally, one more 60 KLPD capacity sugarcane-based ethanol plant of Hindustan Biofuels Limited (HBL - wholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited) is also located in Paschim Champaran.

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