‘Gadkari had promised petrol would be available at ₹15': Tehseen Poonawalla questions E20 fuel pricing

Summary

Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla questioned the government's fuel policy, and he asked why greater emphasis was not being placed on promoting electric vehicles (EVs) through incentives and discounts. Referring to earlier remarks by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari , he noted that petrol blended with ethanol had once been projected to cost as little as ₹ 15 per litre, but claimed that promise had failed to materialise. He argued that consumers should at least receive discounts on ethanol-blended fuel rather than face high prices for conventional petrol. Raising concerns over the lack of progress on EV adoption, he also questioned the status of the government's EV policy and described the ₹ 15-per-litre petrol claim as a “jumla.” Earlier in July 2023, Gadkari, had said that if an average of 60% ethanol and 40% electricity is taken, then petrol will be available at the rate of ₹ 15 per litre and the people will benefit. The import is of ₹ 16 Lakh Crores, this money will go to the homes of farmers instead.” India introduced its Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme in January 2003 to encourage the use of cleaner transportation fuels, reduce dependence on imported crude oil, and provide a reliable domestic market for ethanol, benefiting sectors such as the sugar industry. By 2026, India had exceeded its target of achieving 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol, while the government proposed changes to motor vehicle regulations to facilitate the use of higher ethanol blends, including E85 and E100 fuels. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer Stay updated with the latest Trending , India , World and US news.