The West Asia conflict has helped crystallise the government’s push towards higher ethanol blending in petrol in a bid to reduce crude oil import dependence with the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) emphasising that it is an idea whose time has come.

Currently, around one-third of India’s crude oil imports, which transit the Strait of Hormuz (SoH), are severely impacted. The government has managed to bring down dependence on SoH from over 50 per cent of its total crude imports in January and February to roughly 30 per cent by March.

On higher ethanol blending with petrol, MoPNG Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma said, “The question was whether we are going to increase the base fuel. I must say that it is an idea whose time has arrived. By blending, we are saving on our imports. The stakeholder consultations are going on. In due course, we will inform you about it.”

On flex fuel vehicles, she said, “The government is trying to bring all the stakeholders together. On one side, the automobile companies have to keep the vehicles ready and at the same time, our oil marketing companies also have to be ready to supply that kind of fuel. That exercise is going on. It’s more of a stakeholder consultation in bringing different stakeholders on a common platform.”

Currently, 20 per cent ethanol is blended with petrol, which the government aims to increase further.

Committed to biofuels

Last week, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) Additional Secretary Hanif Qureshi said that government is committed to use biofuels as far as possible and E20 has already taken place. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has already said that +/- 1 per cent blending can be there. So, about 21 per cent that much level can be there.

The ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme has helped India save roughly 6 million tonnes (mt), or around 44 million barrels annually. In the last 10 years, the programme has helped over 18 mt of crude oil imports, saving Rs 1.36 lakh crore in foreign exchange.

On Tuesday, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari emphasised that India should aspire to achieve 100 per cent ethanol blending in the near future, as vulnerabilities in oil exports amid the West Asia crisis have made it necessary for the country to become self-reliant in the energy sector.

Published on April 22, 2026