India saved Rs1.84 lakh crore with ethanol blending: Hardeep Singh Puri

India’s ethanol blending programme has delivered substantial economic and environmental benefits, saving the country Rs 1.84 lakh crore in foreign exchange since the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2014–15, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has apprised.

Highlighting the growing importance of alternative fuels, Hardeep Singh Puri noted that Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) present a practical pathway for India to reduce its dependence on crude oil imports, support the rural economy through increased ethanol demand. He said the program is also promoting low-carbon mobility in the country.

Puri also said that the ethanol blending initiative has led to the substitution of 302 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil and a reduction of 909 lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. A major outcome of the programme has been the economic boost to farmers, with Rs 1.58 lakh crore added to their income—transforming “Annadatas” into “Urjadatas.”

With over 300 million two-wheelers currently in use, India’s vast vehicle ecosystem offers significant potential for scaling up flex-fuel technology.

Puri further stated that even a modest 1% adoption of flex-fuel technology in annual petrol vehicle sales during ESY 2026–27 could generate demand for 4 crore litres of ethanol. This would result in payments of around Rs 266 crore to distilleries while saving approximately Rs 195 crore in foreign exchange.

Such adoption is also expected to reduce crude oil imports by about 0.28 lakh metric tonnes and cut carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 0.86 lakh metric tonnes, reinforcing the environmental and economic advantages of the programme.

At the beginning of this year, Hardeep Singh Puri had revealed that India’s push to blend ethanol with petrol has saved India nearly USD 19.3 billion in foreign exchange.

As the geopolitical tensions in West Asia further flare up to put more constraints on energy supply lines, the Union government introduced new fuel standards permitting ethanol blending in petrol up to 30% last month. As per one estimate, India’s installed ethanol production capacity has surged to nearly 20 billion liters annually (about 2,000 crore liters).

Ethanol Fuel Network Set for Rapid Expansion Across Major Indian Cities

Hardeep Singh Puri also announced that the government will rollout ethanol fuel stations with an initial network of 50–100 outlets across key urban centres, including Delhi-NCR, Pune, Mumbai and Nagpur. The government plans to scale this up significantly, targeting 500 stations by the end of 2026, with an ambitious expansion to 5,000 outlets nationwide by the close of 2027.