India is considering ethanol blending beyond the current E20 level as automakers prepare to introduce flex-fuel vehicles, Prime Minister’s adviser Tarun Kapoor said on Wednesday at The India Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference 2026.
“Now our focus is on going into flexi-fuel vehicles and allowing blending at a percentage which will be higher than E20,” Kapoor said, according to PTI. He said several automakers had indicated plans to bring flex-fuel vehicles to the market, although no launch dates or higher blending target were announced.
The proposed expansion would also require changes at fuel stations. Kapoor said stations would need to make pure ethanol available to consumers alongside blended fuels. The comments indicate that the next phase of India’s ethanol programme could involve both vehicle compatibility and a broader retail-fuel network, rather than simply increasing the proportion of ethanol in existing petrol supplies.
Kapoor said India’s ethanol production capacity now exceeds the requirement of the current blending programme. The industry therefore needs to identify additional uses for the surplus, he said. The government is seeking to increase the use of domestically produced biofuels amid renewed concerns over crude supplies following the West Asia conflict.
The adviser defended the E20 programme against recent criticism, saying concerns were largely driven by misinformation or “motivated reasons”. He said studies had found that E20 vehicles performed well, while a small reduction in fuel efficiency was offset by ethanol’s higher octane content. The remarks come as the government considers whether vehicles and fuel systems should support blending levels above 20 per cent.
The government is also examining wider applications for biofuels. Kapoor said trials involving isobutanol could potentially create a large new market, particularly because diesel accounts for a substantial share of refinery output. He also called for greater participation by ethanol producers in compressed biogas, pointing to the GOBARdhan scheme, which combines incentives offered by different ministries.
Other opportunities identified at the conference included value-added products such as potash. Kapoor said the government remained “totally committed” to the biofuels sector and would ensure existing investments were not exposed to uncertainty as the industry expands. The government has not yet announced a specific timeline for higher-than-E20 blending, flex-fuel vehicle sales or the rollout of pure ethanol at fuel stations.
