Social Media Outrage Against E20 Petrol Was A Paid Campaign: Nitin Gadkari

Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has finally addressed the controversey around E20 petrol. While addressing a  Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) event, Gadkari said that the social media outrage was a paid campaign designed to target him. He said, "Social media campaign against E20 was a paid campaign, a political campaign against me."

E20 petrol was first introduced in India last year in April and has now been rolled out across the nation. The fuel as the name goes, is blended with 20% ethanol as opposed to previously used E10 and E5, which used 10% and 5% of ethanol mix. Ethanol is mainly produced from sugarcane and grains such as maize and rice.

Gadkari's comments come in response to widespread fear among automobile users regarding the use of the fuel and confusion regarding the potential negative impact on older vehicles.

In the same event, the minister also said that, usage of Ethanol has saved thousands of crores for the country and that Ethanol blending is changing the livelihood of farmers. He further added that, the usage of Ethanol is also helping us to reduce pollution.

Putting his weight behind E20 fuel, Gadkari said the industry must test alternative fuel, this will generate global demand for the auto companies.

In 2020, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers had said that the government must provide E10 alongside E20 to ensure the "safe operation" of vehicles, adding that changing parts in older vehicles is a "mammoth task", as per a Reuters report.

Gadkari also noted that air pollution is the biggest challenge for India and that the auto sector is one of the biggest polluters.

Import of fossil fuel will increase as demand for automobile is increasing, but so is pollution, the minister said, adding that the nation will maintain global alignment for BS7 and CAFE norms.