The E20 to E100 - Good idea, Poor Implementation
The E100 idea is a good one.
The problem is the government has spent a year making people hate the word ethanol, so now even a good idea looks bad.
Let me start with what just happened.
Gadkari Ji signed the file that makes 100 percent ethanol fuel legal in India. They call this fuel E100. It comes right after Maruti launched its first flex-fuel car, a Wagon R that can run on petrol mixed with ethanol, all the way up to pure ethanol.
Hero already sells flex-fuel bikes. Toyota, Hyundai and Suzuki are supposed to bring theirs in the next couple of months.
It makes sense because India buys most of its oil from other countries. More than 85 percent of it. We are one of the biggest oil buyers in the world and that bill is massive.
So if we can make some of our own fuel here from our own farms through ethanol, that money stays in India instead of going abroad. The government says ethanol blending has already saved more than ₹1 lakh crore on oil imports over ten years.
Farmers who grow the sugarcane and maize for it have earned over ₹80,000 crore. The fuel burns a little cleaner too. So the basic idea, grow your own fuel instead of importing it, is a sensible one.
And the good thing is that nobody is going to put pure ethanol in your old car. It only goes into the new flex-fuel cars that are built for it. You buy that kind of car knowing it runs on ethanol. So it is not being forced on anyone.
But here is where the anger comes from.
Last year, in April 2025, the government made E20 petrol the only option at almost 90,000 pumps. E20 means 20 percent ethanol mixed in.
Suddenly there was no normal petrol left to buy. You just had to take it. And then people started noticing problems. A big survey found 8 out of 10 people with cars bought before 2022 saw their mileage go down.
Even the carmakers admitted mileage drops by about 2 to 4 percent. Mechanics said fuel-related problems jumped 40 percent. One man in Chennai said his car needed around ₹4 lakh of repairs after water got into the fuel.
And the way the government keeps talking about it is making things worse. In this same speech, Gadkari Ji told a story about a man who blamed ethanol for his breakdown, then said it was a diesel car, so the complaint was nonsense.
He used it to say people are spreading false information. But if someone really did spend ₹4 lakh on repairs and you tell them their problem is fake, they do not feel better. They get more upset. You cannot win people back by telling them they are lying.
So while the policy is fine, the trust is gone. And you cannot sell a new ethanol product to people who already feel cheated by the last one.
The first job for the government right now is to make it clear, everywhere, that E100 is only for the new flex-fuel cars and is not going into anyone's old vehicle.
A lot of people right now think pure ethanol is the next thing about to be pushed on them. That fear needs to go away fast.
Next, give people their choice back on normal petrol. Most of the anger is simply because there is no other option at the pump. Some countries keep two types of fuel side by side. If India brings back a lower-ethanol or ethanol-free petrol for older cars, a big chunk of the anger settles on its own.
They also have to stop calling the complaints fake.
Be straight with people instead. Older cars do lose a bit of mileage. Cars made before 2023 were not built for this fuel.
Say that openly, and say what will be done about it. People will forgive an honest answer.
And also talk about money. A normal person is worried about mileage and what they spend every month. Show how much the country saves on oil.
Put the cost per kilometre in plain numbers. Make it about their pocket.
The sad part is the government has a good story to tell.
Less foreign oil, more income for farmers, a whole new industry being built at home.
But they have rolled this out badly, refused to admit the problems, and as a result even E100, which is actually optional and sensible is getting the same anger as others. more
The problem is the government has spent a year making people hate the word ethanol, so now even a good idea looks bad.
Let me start with what just happened.
Gadkari Ji signed the file that makes 100 percent ethanol fuel legal in India. They call this fuel E100. It comes right after Maruti launched its first flex-fuel car, a Wagon R that can run on petrol mixed with ethanol, all the way up to pure ethanol.
Hero already sells flex-fuel bikes. Toyota, Hyundai and Suzuki are supposed to bring theirs in the next couple of months.
It makes sense because India buys most of its oil from other countries. More than 85 percent of it. We are one of the biggest oil buyers in the world and that bill is massive.
So if we can make some of our own fuel here from our own farms through ethanol, that money stays in India instead of going abroad. The government says ethanol blending has already saved more than ₹1 lakh crore on oil imports over ten years.
Farmers who grow the sugarcane and maize for it have earned over ₹80,000 crore. The fuel burns a little cleaner too. So the basic idea, grow your own fuel instead of importing it, is a sensible one.
And the good thing is that nobody is going to put pure ethanol in your old car. It only goes into the new flex-fuel cars that are built for it. You buy that kind of car knowing it runs on ethanol. So it is not being forced on anyone.
But here is where the anger comes from.
Last year, in April 2025, the government made E20 petrol the only option at almost 90,000 pumps. E20 means 20 percent ethanol mixed in.
Suddenly there was no normal petrol left to buy. You just had to take it. And then people started noticing problems. A big survey found 8 out of 10 people with cars bought before 2022 saw their mileage go down.
Even the carmakers admitted mileage drops by about 2 to 4 percent. Mechanics said fuel-related problems jumped 40 percent. One man in Chennai said his car needed around ₹4 lakh of repairs after water got into the fuel.
And the way the government keeps talking about it is making things worse. In this same speech, Gadkari Ji told a story about a man who blamed ethanol for his breakdown, then said it was a diesel car, so the complaint was nonsense.
He used it to say people are spreading false information. But if someone really did spend ₹4 lakh on repairs and you tell them their problem is fake, they do not feel better. They get more upset. You cannot win people back by telling them they are lying.
So while the policy is fine, the trust is gone. And you cannot sell a new ethanol product to people who already feel cheated by the last one.
The first job for the government right now is to make it clear, everywhere, that E100 is only for the new flex-fuel cars and is not going into anyone's old vehicle.
A lot of people right now think pure ethanol is the next thing about to be pushed on them. That fear needs to go away fast.
Next, give people their choice back on normal petrol. Most of the anger is simply because there is no other option at the pump. Some countries keep two types of fuel side by side. If India brings back a lower-ethanol or ethanol-free petrol for older cars, a big chunk of the anger settles on its own.
They also have to stop calling the complaints fake.
Be straight with people instead. Older cars do lose a bit of mileage. Cars made before 2023 were not built for this fuel.
Say that openly, and say what will be done about it. People will forgive an honest answer.
And also talk about money. A normal person is worried about mileage and what they spend every month. Show how much the country saves on oil.
Put the cost per kilometre in plain numbers. Make it about their pocket.
The sad part is the government has a good story to tell.
Less foreign oil, more income for farmers, a whole new industry being built at home.
But they have rolled this out badly, refused to admit the problems, and as a result even E100, which is actually optional and sensible is getting the same anger as others. more
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View all 6 comments Below 6 comments
Please do not glorify Mr. Gadkari. He is a failure as a thoughtful administrator. I hope people look beyond religion or other political parameters and vote against this guy! If he is so worried about fuel consumption, pollution etc., why is he not focusing on improving our public transport infra, thereby reducing the need for private vehicles. Why cant he do something to promote cycling tracks in cities? Why not focus on strict and immediate action against traffic violators? All of what he is doing is screwing up public as well as the motor vehicle industry leading to an imminent crash in economy! more
Jun 22
Every new idea suffers from poor implementation in the beginning. 2-Minute Maggie mentality we must shun. When are we going to mature ? more
Jun 16
Govt. should roll out new flex fuel cars with optional availability of flex fuel at all petrol pumps. Otherwise old car cost to consumers must be compensated. more
Jun 14
In a increasingly water deficient country, where w should be encouraging (or downright directing) farmers from growing water intensive crops like sugarcane, the government has just done the exact opposite. . With no visible water management schemes , and an increasingly erratic monsoon, congratulations. The only body who will stand to gain are the sugar factory owners. The ones who will stand to lose are people who won't get supply of basic drinking water. No, not talking about car owners here. more
Jun 14
