Amid Ethanol Blending Row, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Clears Air on Claims And Misconceptions | Exclusive

Amid a lot of social media chatter around the blending of Ethanol (E20) with Petrol and claims being that it is affecting vehicles' life, impacting the engines or negatively affecting the mileage, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri joined Times Now for an exclusive conversation on Frankly Speaking to talk about the misconceptions, misinformation, and claims being made around E20.When asked to the Union Minister why the government is not able to convince that there is nothing wrong with the E20 being blended with petrol, Hardeep Singh Puri said he does not think that there is any problem with the Indian public. He said that this ethanol blending is not something which has just started today. It goes back to 100 of years

ago when Henry Ford introduced Ethanol fuel in the first motor car, which he thinks was somewhere in 1890s or 1900s something. You had airplanes running on ethanol, racing cars using ethanol, he said.

How Much Foreign Exchange Did India Save Due To Ethanol Blending

Shifting focus to India, Union Minister said that let’s come to India. "I think the first ethanol policy was made in 2001, and a certain first target was set in 2004. In 2006, when I was sent as India’s ambassador to Brazil, they already had 20 per cent biofuel blending. And today, Brazil is going from 27 per cent to 32 per cent biofuel-based blending.""There is something called science. When we went into E10 in 2014, it was clear that India needed to go down the road for biofuel blending for several reasons. Like for transitioning to cleaner, environmentally sustainable fuels, for helping the agri economy, or reducing imports, and a variety of reasons. When we did E10 and then E20, we have saved 190,000 crores in foreign exchange. If we did not have the Ethanol blending, 39.98 lakh metric tonnes more crude would have been imported during the time when Hormuz was shut. And as a result of this blending, we are saving 931.502 lakh metric tons of Carbon Dioxide emissions," the Union Minister informed.

Watch Hardeep Singh Puri's Full Interview Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqLrC8aqhTU

Continuing speaking, Puri said, "Apart from 190,000 crores that we saved, out of this 140,000 crores will be given to the farmers, on account of the blending thus far. There are 193 countries today, and India has one of the lowest fuel costs to consumers at the point of retail."Sharing some more data and comparisons, the Union Minister said, "If you look at the comparison of four years, from May 2022 to May 2026, India is the lowest country for increase after Japan in retail fuel prices. In terms of increase, prices in India have actually come down over a four-year period."Hardeep Puri said that the country has been on E10 since November 2022, with E15 for at least three and a half years and on E20 at least from April 2026 to June 5. So what changed on June 5, because when we said that we will go to E85, something got startled, and they (those questioning government on E20 blend) said, "My God, My God."

The Union Minister in a message to those opposing the ethanol blending with petrol said that they should first choose the cause as the goal posts are shifting.

Hardeep Puri on Giving Choice to Consumers on Ethanol Blending

When asked whether the consumers should be given the choice to opt for ethanol blending, the Union Minister said that he is giving the choice, to go beyond E20, but why go back? Because the engines are improving, they can take better. Suzuki Motors says that they have serviced something like 1.5 crore vehicles, and not one of them has suffered any damage.