New Delhi : The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that India’s 20 per cent ethanol blending programme in petrol remains an evolving exercise and that its full impact is expected to become clearer by next year. The government’s submission comes amid an ongoing debate over the ethanol blending policy, with concerns being raised about its possible impact on older vehicles and fuel efficiency.
The observations were made during the hearing of a petition filed by state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) challenging a Karnataka High Court order related to ethanol allocation for the 2025-26 supply year. In its June 23 order, the High Court directed oil marketing companies (OMCs)—BPCL, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)—to consider a distillery’s request for an increase in its ethanol allocation before finalising the tender process.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani said ethanol supply contracts for the 2025-26 cycle had already been finalised in October 2025 and warned that reopening individual allocations could disrupt the nationwide policy. The ethanol supply contracts had already been finalised in October 2025. Similar petitions are pending before several High Courts. This will impact the national policy, he told the court. “The government is trying to experiment with 20 per cent ethanol blending. We will have the results of that by next year,” he added.
He informed the court that BPCL, the nodal agency coordinating the ethanol-blended petrol programme, had received cumulative supply offers of around 1,759 crore litres after the tender process. The Attorney General also sought permission to file a transfer petition before the Supreme Court, arguing that similar cases pending in different High Courts should be heard together since ethanol supply contracts are due for renewal in October.
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