New Delhi, August 27, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Khanna on Thursday clarified that there is no proposal to replace E20 petrol with E10, saying the ongoing discussion is focused on whether older vehicles should have access to petrol containing a lower ethanol blend.
Speaking to the media after BPCL’s annual shareholder meeting, Khanna said there would be no operational or logistical difficulty in switching to E10 if the government were to change its ethanol-blending policy.
“I never said that E20 will be changed to E10. What is being debated in some circles is whether older vehicles should have an option of lower-ethanol blend fuel,” he said.
E10 petrol contains 10 per cent ethanol and 90 per cent petrol, while E20 contains 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol.
Khanna said there was currently no proposal to roll back E20. However, he confirmed that one option under discussion was making E10 available specifically for older vehicles.
“One of the options being explored is whether we have E10 fuel for the older vehicle, which is what is being pursued right now,” he said.
He acknowledged that supplying another grade of petrol alongside E20 could pose logistical challenges, particularly in terms of managing multiple fuel grades simultaneously, but said these issues were being examined.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas recently issued a factsheet rejecting claims that vehicles manufactured before 2023 cannot run on E20 petrol and that automobile manufacturers had privately indicated that the blended fuel was undesirable.
According to the ministry, E15-plus fuel has been widely used for more than three-and-a-half years, while E19-E20 fuel has been in use for over two-and-a-half years. It said there had been no verified reports of widespread engine failures or vehicle breakdowns attributable to ethanol blending during this period.
The ministry also argued that systemic damage caused by ethanol blending would have resulted in large-scale warranty claims, service campaigns and widespread consumer complaints, none of which had been reported.
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