New Delhi [India], September 15 (ANI): Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Monday said that ethanol-blended petrol does not adversely affect vehicles and dismissed claims of controversy surrounding the government's ethanol blending programme.

Addressing reporters in Varanasi, Minister Puri said, 'There is no impact on vehicles.'

Minister Puri further emphasised that the ethanol programme transforms India's farmers into energy providers while strengthening energy security. He highlighted that ethanol blending has saved the country Rs 1.4 lakh crore in crude oil imports and contributed to lower pollution.

'The Government of India had decided that by November 2020, we would achieve 10% ethanol blending. This objective was achieved five months ago. We aimed to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2030. We did that five years ago... There is no controversy. The problem started when some statements were made that we would go further with this. But no decision has been taken on that yet. I want to assure you. There is no controversy in this. With the ethanol program, our food provider becomes an energy provider. Due to 20% ethanol blending, we have saved Rs. 1.4 lakh crore on imports... Atmospheric pollution has also reduced...,' the Minister added.

India has significantly accelerated its ethanol blending targets over the past decade.

In 2014, blending stood at just 1.53%. By 2022, the country had achieved a 10% blending rate, ahead of schedule.

The target of 20% blending (E20), originally set for 2030 and later advanced to 2025, has already been met in the current ethanol supply year.

The minister also linked ethanol production to India's green energy transition, pointing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inauguration of a bamboo-based ethanol plant in Assam on Sunday.

India got its first second-generation ethanol plant on Sunday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's bamboo-based refinery unit in Assam. The foundation stone of the NRL Bio Refinery at Numaligarh was laid by the PM himself on February 9, 2019. The Numaligarh Rs 5,000 crore 2nd-generation bioethanol plant is the first of its kind in the world to utilise bamboo.

On the ethanol blending with fuel, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas recently issued a detailed clarification rejecting claims that E20 petrol reduces fuel efficiency significantly. According to the ministry, mileage reduction is marginal -- about 1-2% in vehicles calibrated for E20 and 3-6% in older models, and not the 'drastic' drop as was alleged.

The release also stated that the usage f E20 fuel has no impact of the validity of insurance of vehicles in India. In the meantime, automobile manufacturers continue to engage with vehicle owners to provide them with any support that may be warranted to ensure optimum performance of vehicles. For a vehicle owner who believes that his/her vehicle may require further tuning or parts replacement, the entire network of authorised service stations is available to respond to such requests.

The ministry also underlined that ethanol blending since 2014-15 has saved over Rs 1.40 lakh crore in foreign exchange, ensured payments of more than Rs 1.20 lakh crore to farmers, and reduced lakh of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Supreme Court had recently dismissed a plea challenging the nationwide rollout of E20 and seeking ethanol-free petrol. Separately, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari described recent criticism of the blending programme as a 'paid campaign' against him. (ANI)