India Clears Rules for E85 and E100 Flex-Fuel Cars as Nitin Gadkari Defends Ethanol Policy

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways amended the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 on October 23, 2026, to include E85 and E100 fuels. This change clears the legal path for carmakers to build and sell flex-fuel vehicles that run on high ethanol blends or pure ethanol. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari defended the government's ethanol policy at a Confederation of Indian Industry event, calling criticism against E20 petrol a paid campaign driven by selfish interests. According to PTI, Gadkari stated that using alternative fuels like ethanol helps reduce India's reliance on imported fossil fuels and saves valuable foreign exchange.

The Cost and Mileage Math

While regular E20 petrol costs 102.12 rupees per litre in Delhi, E85 fuel is priced lower at 82.12 rupees per litre, creating a 20-rupee difference per litre. However, ethanol contains about 33 percent less energy than pure petrol, meaning an engine must burn more fuel to cover the same distance. When using E85 fuel, a vehicle's mileage can drop by 25 to 30 percent. A test of the Maruti Wagon R Flex Fuel by media teams in Delhi delivered about 16 kilometres per litre. The top ZXi Plus variant of the Maruti Wagon R regular E20 model costs 6.41 lakh rupees, while the flex-fuel version costs 7.24 lakh rupees, making it roughly 83,000 rupees more expensive for the buyer.

Water and Food Security Concerns

Making ethanol requires massive amounts of water for crops like sugarcane, maize, and rice. Producing just one litre of ethanol from rice requires between 10,790 litres of water, while sugarcane ethanol has a water footprint of 2,860 to 3,000 litres per litre at the farm level. Increased demand for fuel crops risks putting heavy pressure on groundwater levels and food security, especially if crops are diverted from food markets to fuel production without clear safety rules during droughts.

Context

India imports a vast share of its crude oil, which heavily impacts the national import bill and foreign exchange reserves whenever global oil prices rise. Flex-fuel engines are specifically built to run smoothly on varying petrol and ethanol mixtures beyond standard limits, but older cars cannot safely handle high blends without proper engine upgrades.