E20 fuel delivering major environmental, economic gains without causing any harm to vehicle engines: Gadkari

By Soumya Chatterjee

Reiterating his stand on ethanol-blended petrol, union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday said the E20 fuel transition is already delivering major environmental gains without causing any harm to vehicle engines.

Gadkari said this while replying to a question by TMC MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia from West Bengal.

Gadkari said, “The substitution of crude oil with ethanol has already yielded significant environmental benefits. The resulting reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is approximately 245 lakh metric tons. The total carbon emission reduction is 736 lakh metric tons, which is equivalent to the environmental impact of planting 30 crore trees.”

Ethanol, he stressed, is a “green, pollution-reducing fuel” that is central to India’s efforts to become self-reliant in energy.

He underlined that beyond environmental dividends, the transition is economically transformative. “India’s annual fossil-fuel import bill stands at ₹22 lakh crore, and the long-term goal is to eliminate this entirely by producing fuel domestically.” Ethanol production, he said, ensures that “the money that earlier went abroad will go to rural areas,” turning farmers into “Urja Data and Indhan Data”—providers of energy and fuel.

Addressing concerns that E20 could damage engines, especially in vehicles manufactured before 2023, Gadkari said rigorous tests conducted by the government’s Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) show no adverse impact on performance or engine health. The tests involved running vehicles for 1 lakh km, during which there were no engine failures, no issues with start-ability or drive-ability, and no degradation in metal components. Fears regarding possible corrosion of metal parts were dismissed, with officials noting that only small metal washers are routinely replaced during servicing.

He said only a single complaint reported in Gujarat involving a Volkswagen vehicle was also found to be unrelated to E20, he added.

This article has been republished from The Hindustan Times