New Delhi, August 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran has backed the reintroduction of E10 petrol alongside E20 to cater to India’s older vehicle fleet, particularly millions of two-wheelers equipped with carburettor-based engines.
In an article published by The Indian Express, Nageswaran said concerns that E20 petrol could damage vehicle engines were not supported by available evidence. He noted that ethanol contains about two-thirds the energy content of petrol, meaning an E20 blend results in an energy penalty of up to around 7 per cent, rather than the much larger reduction claimed in some social media posts.
Nageswaran said testing conducted in the US and India had found no increase in vehicle wear in models not originally rated for E20. However, he highlighted a specific concern involving an estimated 75-80 million two-wheelers manufactured before the BS4 emission standards and using carburettors.
According to the CEA, carburettors cannot detect the additional oxygen introduced by ethanol blends and adjust the fuel-air mixture accordingly. As a result, older engines running on E20 may receive insufficient fuel relative to the air intake and potentially operate at higher temperatures. Older rubber seals that are not ethanol-compatible could also deteriorate with prolonged exposure to ethanol.
Nageswaran said the original ethanol-blending roadmap had envisaged keeping a lower-blend fuel available for such vehicles, but E10 had subsequently disappeared from fuel pumps.
He suggested restoring E10 alongside E20, saying the move would address concerns among owners of older vehicles, protect the existing fleet and allow time for retrofitting older vehicles.
The CEA also recommended maintaining the E20 target until India undertakes a comprehensive cost-benefit assessment of the food-versus-fuel trade-off. He called for policy attention to issues related to pricing, water consumption and distortions in edible-oil policy.
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