New Delhi: India’s ethanol blending programme has not only reduced the count-ry’s dependence on crude oil imports but also significant-ly boosted farmers’ income, Union Minister for Petrole um and Natural Gas, Harde-ep Singh Puri, said on Sun day. The Union minister said that over the past 11 years, the government has paid mo-re than Rs 1.18 lakh crore to farmers under the ethanol blending programme.
He added that the initiative has helped India save foreign ex-change worth Rs 1.36 lakh crore by cutting down on crude oil im-ports. “During this pe-riod, ethanol has replaced around 232 lakh metric ton-nes of crude oil, resulting in a reduction of approximate ly 698 lakh metric tonnes in carbon emissions,” the mi-nister said in a post on social media platform X. “Under the guidance of Prime Mini ster Narendra Modi, ethanol is emerging as a key driver of New India’s growth,” he added. “Every drop of etha nol carries the pride and pro sperity of our farmers. We have already achieved the
target of 20 per cent ethanol blending ahead of schedu-le,” the Union Minister sta-ted.
Earlier, the minister had announced that E20 fuel petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol is now avai-lable at all retail outlets of state-run oil marketing com-panies, including Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hin-dustan Petroleum. India had originally set a target to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2030. However, the go-al was met in early 2025, six years ahead of schedule — marking a major milestone in the country’s shift to-wards cleaner fuels. Mean-while, the Union minister earlier this week said that In-dia’s oil and gas sector has undergone a significant transformation over the past 11 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post shared on so-cial media platform X on Sa-turday, the minister credited the ‘Digital India’ initiative and tech-driven innovations for making the country’s fu-el infrastructure smarter and more efficient. AGENCIES
