India's Karnataka finds fuel samples exceeding 20% ethanol limit, state minister says

Four in five petrol pumps surveyed in India's Karnataka state were selling fuel blended with ethanol content above the permitted 20% limit, a minister in the opposition-ruled state government said on Friday.

The findings raise fresh concerns about fuel quality and vehicle compatibility as India expands the use of E20 fuel, or a petrol blend consisting of 20% ethanol, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to reduce crude imports, lower emissions and support domestic ethanol producers.

Karnataka sent 63 samples collected from seven districts to a certified laboratory after oil marketing companies did not respond to the government's request for details on ethanol content, Rizwan Arshad, state minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, said at a press conference.


Ethanol content in some samples was as high as 31.2%, including fuel sold at state-run fuel retailers Indian Oil , Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum , Arshad said.

"Few vehicles are E20 compliant. Even E20-compliant vehicles will also have issues (if ethanol content is more than 20%)."

Arshad, a lawmaker from the opposition Indian National Congress party, also called on the federal government to create a compensation fund for vehicle owners and to hold oil marketing companies accountable for blending beyond mandated limits.

The companies Arshad mentioned, and India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The federal government has repeatedly said that concerns about the fuel blending are not backed by conclusive scientific evidence, and that the programme has been scientifically validated and continuously monitored.

In August, a Reuters investigation found internal emails that showed India's auto lobby, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, had privately flagged concerns about contaminated E20 fuel and its potential impact on vehicle parts.

SIAM said ​the data was intended only for internal circulation, discussion and validation, and was collected by "very few" automakers.