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The programme mixing ethanol into petrol to cut oil imports and emissions, which reached the 20% E20 target five years early.
Ethanol blending is the practice of mixing ethanol, an alcohol produced from sugarcane, molasses, damaged foodgrain and maize, with petrol before it is sold at the pump. The proportion is indicated by the letter E followed by the percentage, so E20 means a fuel of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol. India pursues this under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, guided by the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, with three declared objectives: reducing dependence on imported crude oil, lowering vehicular emissions, and creating an additional income stream for sugarcane and grain farmers.
Type: PolicyE20 denotes 20 per cent ethanol blended with 80 per cent petrol
Governed by the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, as amended in 2022
The 2022 amendment advanced the 20 per cent blending target from 2030 to Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26
India achieved 20 per cent blending in Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26, five years ahead of the original target
Blending rose from about 1.5 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent in 2025
Feedstocks include sugarcane juice, molasses, damaged foodgrain and maize
The Ethanol Supply Year runs from November to October, not April to March
Frequency: Biofuels and energy security are recurring themes in UPSC Prelims and Mains GS Paper 3
About 1.5 per cent
12.06 per cent
14.60 per cent
17.98 per cent
20 per cent, achieving the E20 target
2030, advanced to 2025-26 by the 2022 amendment
E27, en route to 30 per cent blending
Ethanol reaches the fuel pump through a chain that begins in the sugar and grain economy and ends at oil marketing companies.
Step 1: Distilleries produce ethanol from sugarcane juice, molasses, damaged foodgrain or maize
Step 2: Oil marketing companies procure the ethanol at administered prices fixed by the government for each feedstock
Step 3: The ethanol is blended with petrol at depots and terminals to the prescribed percentage
Step 4: The blended fuel is distributed and sold through retail outlets as E20
Step 5: Vehicle manufacturers are required to make engines and fuel systems compatible with the prescribed blend
The case for blending is straightforward: every litre of ethanol substitutes a litre of petrol that would otherwise have been refined from imported crude, and with India importing the overwhelming majority of its oil, that is a direct saving of foreign exchange. It also gives sugar mills an alternative to a chronically oversupplied sugar market and gives farmers a second buyer. The objections are equally concrete. Sugarcane and maize are water-intensive crops grown heavily in water-stressed regions, so a fuel policy quietly becomes a water policy. Consumers have raised concerns about reduced mileage on higher blends, since ethanol carries less energy per litre than petrol, and about the compatibility of older vehicles not designed for E20. The debate over the move to E27 turns on exactly these trade-offs.
E20 = 20 per cent ethanol blended with 80 per cent petrol
Run under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme; policy basis is the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 (amended 2022)
E20 target advanced from 2030 to ESY 2025-26 and achieved five years early
Blending rose from about 1.5 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent in 2025
Ethanol Supply Year runs November to October
Feedstocks: sugarcane juice, molasses, damaged foodgrain, maize
Main concerns: water intensity of feedstock crops, reduced mileage, older-vehicle compatibility
E20 is a fuel blend containing 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol. The number after the E always indicates the percentage of ethanol in the mix.
India reached 20 per cent blending in Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26, five years ahead of the original target of 2030.
Ethanol contains less energy per litre than petrol, so a litre of blended fuel delivers slightly less energy. Engines not optimised for the blend therefore show a small drop in fuel efficiency.
That sugarcane and maize are water-intensive crops often grown in water-stressed regions, that higher blends reduce mileage, and that older vehicles were not designed for E20 fuel.