Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has pitched for bringing back E10 petrol for India's older vehicle fleet, arguing that the government must urgently work out the food-versus-fuel trade-off before pushing ethanol blending levels beyond E20.
According to an opinion piece he co-authored with Department of Economic Affairs consultant Akash Poojari in The Indian Express, he sought to address online concerns about E20 petrol damaging engines.
He further called the fear largely unfounded but noting one genuine exception: India's 75-80 million pre-BS4 two-wheelers built with carburettors, which cannot adjust to ethanol's extra oxygen content and consequently run hot, while their uncoated rubber seals degrade over time.
ALSO READ | E20 Petrol Not Sole Factor Behind Low Mileage, Says Govt: Here's What May Cost You More Fuel
The authors said retrofitting these vehicles would take years even if undertaken at scale immediately, making the case for restoring a lower blend such as E10 at the pumps for this ageing fleet.
Nageswaran and Poojari argued that citing global and domestic testing, including by India's Automotive Research Association (ARI) and Indian Oil, the broader anxiety over E20 causing durability issues does not hold up, with the actual efficiency loss from ethanol blending pegged at 6-7% rather than the "30% loss" cited online.
The bigger question, the piece said, was whether India should push blending further to E27 or E30, since maize, now supplying about half the country's ethanol, is increasingly competing with soybean, groundnut and mustard for cropland, and undercutting oilseed farmers through both land use and cheaper animal feed byproducts.
"Once land and water are committed to fuel, and distilleries and cropping patterns are built around it, pulling back can be painful," read the caption accompanying the piece.
ALSO READ | Will E20 Petrol Damage Older Vehicles? Govt Shares Data To Refute Claims
The authors also flagged concerns over blue-water usage in sugarcane-heavy states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, and said India's ethanol life-cycle emissions data remained inconclusive on whether grain-based ethanol is genuinely cleaner once cultivation and processing are factored in.
The piece recommended reintroducing E10 for older vehicles, correcting price and water-use distortions favouring maize, and holding blending at E20 "until India has thoroughly costed the food-versus-fuel trade-off," rather than assuming the answer away.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.