There is no confirmed report of engine damage or sudden shutdown of vehicles running on 20% ethanol blended petrol i.e. E20 fuel in the country. The government gave this information in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha i.e. Parliament today i.e. on July 20.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said that this conclusion has been reached based on the experiences of running more than 23 crore vehicles running across the country and several scientific studies. The government has clarified that no evidence of damage to the engine has been found with E20 fuel.
Minister Suresh Gopi said in the Rajya Sabha that currently more than 20 crore two-wheelers and more than 3 crore petrol cars are running on ethanol blended fuel in the country. A large number of these are also old vehicles that were manufactured before E20 certification.
Even after looking at the data and service records of all these vehicles, there is no firm confirmation of engine failure or major vehicle damage due to ethanol blending. The government told the House that the decision to move the country towards E20 fuel was not taken suddenly. It has been completely phased and based on scientific evidence.
In the year 2013-14, where ethanol blending in petrol was only 1.53%, it has been increased to 20% (E20) by the year 2025-26 only after scientific deliberations and discussions with all stakeholders at all levels.
