Chief Financial Advisor to the Authorities of India, V Anantha Nageswaran, has made a case for bringing again E10 petrol for older automobiles. The suggestion comes as India has already moved to E20, or petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol, throughout the nation.
In an op-ed printed in The Indian Express, Nageswaran and co-author Akash Poojari argue that older automobiles want a unique method even because the nation continues with its broader ethanol programme. The 2 have proposed to provide house owners of older automobiles the choice of shopping for E10, whereas newer automobiles proceed to make use of E20.
Nageswaran mentioned India has round 75-80 million two-wheelers constructed for E10. Many of those automobiles weren’t designed to run on greater ethanol blends. The difficulty, he argued, will not be merely about mileage. Older engines can face compatibility issues as a result of ethanol can have an effect on parts comparable to rubber seals and fuel-system components. Carburettor-based automobiles can even battle with greater ethanol blends.
Nageswaran wrote: “Restoring a decrease mix on the pump, say, E10, alongside the choice to purchase E20, would calm public concern, decrease whole ethanol use as an alternative of elevating it, and shield the prevailing fleet whereas the retrofit programme catches up.” This, he mentioned, might supply a sensible bridge whereas older automobiles are regularly changed or retrofitted.
The CEA additionally pushed again towards among the extra excessive claims surrounding E20. “Ethanol is barely a fifth of the mix, so the power penalty is round 6 to 7 per cent, not the 30 per cent doing the rounds,” he wrote. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that older vehicles current a real drawback. “Older rubber seals that aren’t rated for ethanol are a separate drawback, as they degrade on contact with the gas, no matter engine temperature.”
The Larger Query: E20 or E10?
The talk is now much less about whether or not India ought to use ethanol. It’s about how shortly the transition ought to occur, and who ought to bear the fee.
India’s ethanol-blending programme is aimed toward reducing dependence on imported crude oil. It additionally creates a domestic market for ethanol produced from sugarcane, maize and different feedstocks.
However shoppers with older automobiles have a unique calculation. For them, greater ethanol content material can imply decrease gas effectivity and issues over the long-term affect on car parts.
Nageswaran argues that coverage ought to take this actuality into consideration. He additionally raised the bigger food-versus-fuel query, stating that rising demand for ethanol feedstock can have implications for land, water and meals availability.
Newer automobiles are more and more designed to deal with greater ethanol blends. However thousands and thousands of older automobiles and two-wheelers are nonetheless on the highway. Changing them will take years. Retrofitting them may also take time. Because of this the CEA’s suggestion is notable. He doesn’t name for abandoning E20 altogether. As a substitute, he proposes protecting E10 out there for automobiles that have been designed for it.
The CEA’s article additionally drew a political response. Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the article on X and wrote: “Chief Financial advisor of Modi authorities advocates E10 for older vehicles. Will Modi ji pay attention? Or will he change the Chief Financial Advisor as he at all times does to dissenting voices?”
Ethanol Business Pushes Again
The suggestion to convey again E10 for older automobiles, nonetheless, has not gone unchallenged. Kushal Mittal, Vice President of the All India Distillers’ Affiliation (AIDA), mentioned India shouldn’t roll again a coverage primarily based on sentiment or notion.
“As a assured and forward-looking nation, we should always not think about rolling again a rigorously evaluated coverage merely on the premise of sentiment or notion,” Mittal mentioned. “Scientific proof, in depth testing and goal knowledge should information our power coverage.”
Mittal argued that the transfer to E20 was not rushed. In keeping with him, the federal government started pilot trials as early as 2016, adopted by complete evaluations in 2022 in session with vehicle producers.
“The transition to E20 is a strategic crucial for India’s energy security and nationwide safety… India ought to give attention to resolving real technical and operational issues moderately than going again to a decrease mix,” Mittal mentioned. He added that E20 can scale back India’s dependence on imported fossil fuels whereas strengthening the home biofuel ecosystem.
Mittal additionally pointed to the broader financial advantages of the ethanol programme. Increased ethanol mixing creates demand for home feedstocks. That, in flip, helps farmers, distilleries and different components of the biofuel ecosystem.
“E20 considerably strengthens India’s power safety by lowering dependence on imported fossil fuels and constructing a robust home biofuel ecosystem,” Mittal mentioned. “It supplies an essential defend towards world power value volatility and exterior provide shocks, whereas additionally creating alternatives for farmers, business and the broader economic system.”
