New Delhi: India is set to take a major step toward reducing its dependence on imported crude oil on World Environment Day, with Union Minister of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri scheduled to launch E85 fuel at an Indian Oil petrol pump on Pusa Road in Delhi today. The fuel blend, comprising 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, is designed for flex-fuel vehicles and will be rolled out across major Indian cities in a phased manner.
Puri has announced that around 50 dispensing outlets across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur will be operational in the initial phase, expanding to approximately 500 by December 2026 and around 5,000 outlets across major cities by the end of next year.
Why E85 matters for India
India currently imports nearly 89% of its crude oil requirements, leaving the economy exposed to global energy price shocks and geopolitical supply disruptions. The push for E85 is part of a broader national strategy to substitute imported oil with domestically produced ethanol. Puri has pointed out that India has already raised ethanol blending in petrol from 1.5% in 2014 to 20%, generating foreign exchange savings of Rs 1.84 lakh crore through the substitution of 302 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil.
The minister also launched Maruti Suzuki’s maiden flex-fuel car, the WagonR, and Hero MotoCorp’s flex-fuel variants of the Splendor Plus and HF Deluxe motorcycles earlier this week, highlighting growing industry participation in the flex-fuel ecosystem ahead of today’s E85 launch.
Consumer economics at the heart of adoption
Puri has been clear that affordability will be the key driver of consumer adoption. E85 is expected to be priced significantly below conventional petrol, making it economically attractive for vehicle owners. “Consumer economics is the most important factor,” he said, adding that flex-fuel vehicle owners could achieve cost parity quickly if E85 remains cheaper than E20 and regular petrol. If 50% of new two-wheelers and four-wheelers become flex-fuel compliant, ethanol demand for fuel would rise by 400 crore litres from the existing 1,100 crore litres, Puri said.
