Yes Punjab | Ethanol blending hiked from 1.5% to 10% since 2013-14: Hardeep Singh Puri

Jan 10,2023

India has made a significant progress in increasing the amount of ethanol blending in gasoline in last 7-8 years. Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has informed that from 1.53% in 2013-14, the country has increased ethanol blending in petrol to 10.17% in 2022. The minister further added that the government has advanced its target to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26.

According to the petroleum minister, India has been able to navigate through one of the most challenging global energy crises witnessed since the 1973 oil crisis. India could achieve this because of its energy security strategy focusing on diversification of energy supplies, increasing the country’s exploration and production footprint, transitioning towards a gas-based economy, endorsement of Green Hydrogen and electric vehicles, etc.

The petroleum minister said that India even broadened the number of its crude oil suppliers from 27 countries in 2006-07 to 39 in 2021-22. Some new suppliers catering to India are Russia, Gabon, Columbia, Libya and Equatorial Guinea among others. “At the same time, we have a strengthened our relationship with countries like US and Russia,” added minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

He also remarked that diesel prices in India have only risen by 3% between December 2021 to December 2022. This is a much controlled figure as compared to other countries which registered sharp increase in diesel prices as they rose by 34% in the US, 36% in Canada, 25% in Spain and 10% in the UK. This highlights India’s successful attempts to keep fuel prices stable, despite the deteriorating global energy crisis.

Overally, it appears that the Indian government has been working towards diversifying its energy sources, putting immense efforts to strengthening its ties with other nations and constantly keeping fuel prices stable, in order to deal with the ongoing energy crisis. The efforts are now bringing in positive results with increased ethanol blending in petrol, and the accelerated target to achieve 20 percent ethanol blending by 2025-26. These measures will not just boost domestic renewable energy sector but also results in a cleaner environment and cutting down dependence on fossil fuels.