India has achieved nearly 10% ethanol blending of petrol months ahead of the target, a move that will spare consumers an additional Rs 2 per litre tax from October. The budget had proposed the additional tax on unblended petrol from October to speed up adoption of the cleaner fuel as part of the country’s energy transition and climate action plans
But ethanol supply remains a concern, even though the government is pushing hard to expand capacity. The roadmap for blending prepared jointly by the oil ministry and government think-tank Niti Ayog for developing an ethanol economy in the country had set a target of 5% blending by the end of 2022 and 20% by 2025. The Centre has also targetted 5% blending of biodiesel with diesel by 2030.
The roadmap reckons 20% blending of petrol with ethanol will result in an annual saving of $5 billion, or more than Rs 300 billion in India’s oil import bill. The Centre has also targetted 5 per cent blending of biodiesel with diesel by 2030.