From E20 to E100: Govt Draft Norms Pave Way for 100% Ethanol, Biodiesel-powered Vehicles
Moneylife Digital Team 29 April 2026
 
The draft notification issued by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) outlines changes aimed at enabling vehicles to operate on advanced biofuel blends, marking a shift beyond the current E20 benchmark.
 
The proposed amendments seek to formally accommodate ethanol blends such as E85 (85% ethanol) and E100, allowing vehicles to run on near-pure ethanol. Biodiesel norms are also proposed to be expanded from B10 to B100.
 
In India, ethanol blending started in 2003 with E5. E20 compatibility began phasing in from 2023, full by 2025. Companies like Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Hyundai, Toyota and Mahindra offer E20-ready models
 
In addition, the definition of Hydrogen-CNG fuel has been updated from ‘Hydrogen+CN’ to ‘Hydrogen+CNG’, while gasoline classification has been revised from E10 to E20, reflecting the government’s push towards higher ethanol blending.
 
The draft rules also propose increasing the gross vehicle weight limit to 3,500kg from the existing 3,000kg.
 
Cars manufactured after April 2023 are already E20-compliant and can handle ethanol blends up to 30%, indicating a gradual transition towards greater biofuel use in the automotive sector.
 
Last week, Nitin Gadkari, minister of MoRTH, emphasised the need for India to move towards complete ethanol blending.
 
“In the near future, India should aspire to achieve 100% ethanol blending. Today, we are facing an energy crisis due to the war in West Asia, so it is necessary for us to become self-reliant in the energy sector,” he said at a recent green transport conclave.
 
Countries such as Brazil, which have already adopted 100% ethanol blending in certain segments, are being studied as potential models for India’s transition.
 
In parallel, the government has allowed the blending of ethanol into aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by amending the Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001.
 
Under the revised definition, ATF can now include synthesised components along with hydrocarbons, paving the way for the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
 
Currently, jet fuel used by Indian airlines does not contain biofuel blends. The government has set phased targets for SAF blending—1% by 2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030—in line with global goals set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
 
The draft rules, notified on 27 April 2026, have been published for public consultation. Stakeholders and citizens have been invited to submit objections or suggestions within 30 days, following which the government will take a final decision.
Comments
sur.abhishek
1 week ago
Please include a link to the draft recommendations when posting commentary on such.
sur.abhishek
Replied to sur.abhishek comment 1 week ago
p.s. Isn't it a fact that biofuels, on account of their biological origins, are more susceptible to decay/degrade spontaneously in-situ?
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