Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri
| Photo Credit:
Karma Bhutia
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday that the retail selling price of flex fuel, the E85 variant that has a higher blend of ethanol, will be around ₹20 cheaper than the E20 petrol variant.“I think we have consciously structured the pricing to ensure that consumers are adequately compensated by making E85 approximately ₹20 per litre cheaper than E20,” the Oil Minister said while launching the E85 variant at an Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL)-run retail outlet.Currently, the E85 variant is priced at ₹82.12 a litre in Delhi against ₹102.12 a litre of E20 blended petrol. The rollout commences across 48 public sector OMC retail outlets (ROs) in the country, enabling flex-fuel vehicle users to access this cleaner fuel. E85 is a high-ethanol blended fuel comprising 80–85 per cent ethanol and 14–19 per cent petrol, specifically designed for use in flex-fuel vehicles. The initiative aims to facilitate the adoption of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which are capable of operating on ethanol blends from E20 to E100, without restricting consumers to a single blend.New variantThe Minister explained that the newly launched variant, which has 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol, will be available at fuel retail outlets (ROs) with clearly displayed signage.“E85 is a different category. At fuel bunks, a board will say very clearly that only for E85 compliant cars only. You will buy E85 as you want to contribute to lessen fuel import bills, save the environment, and enhance farmer’s income. I believe within a few weeks we will have about 50 to 100 ethanol dispensing stations in Delhi-NCR, Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur, etc. By 2026 end, we will have 500 and by 2027 end we will have 5,000 dispensing stations,” Puri emphasised.The Minister emphasised that several countries, particularly Brazil have successfully leveraged flex fuel vehicles and are an intrinsic part of their energy dynamics. India is gradually moving in that direction.Puri also noted that the push towards ethanol has led to a rise in the production capacity to around 1,900 crore litres of ethanol against a requirement of roughly 1,150 crore litres to meet the E20 petrol blending mandate.“If one out of two cars which are manufactured from now onwards and which is very easy to do. If they are E85 compliant, then we will have a situation where another 318 crore litres of ethanol can be consumed. For 20 per cent ethanol blending, we required around 1,150 crore litres ethanol. The capacity installed is 1,800-1,900 crore litres. Today, it is absolutely clear that the debate of energy security Vs food security was baseless,” he explained.Published on June 5, 2026
