Gadkari says protest against E20 petrol was a paid campaign, now subsided

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has spoken openly on the controversy over E20 fuel. Speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event, he said the protest against E20 fuel some months ago did not arise on its own. According to Gadkari, it was a "paid campaign".

Gadkari also said the entire opposition has now died down. He stressed that the use of ethanol is essential in the national interest and to save foreign exchange.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made a significant amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Under a new notification published on October 26, 2026, E100 fuel, or pure ethanol, has been formally included in vehicle emission standards.

The new rules open the way for vehicle manufacturers (OEMs). They can now get flex-fuel vehicles, which run on higher ethanol blends such as E85 and E100, legally certified.

E85 fuel contains up to 85 per cent ethanol, while E100 is almost entirely pure ethanol. Flex-fuel vehicles are special vehicles whose engine and fuel system are built to run on varying proportions of petrol and ethanol.

Motorists should not assume that E100 or E85 can be used in all existing petrol vehicles once the new rules take effect. Most vehicles on the market are suited to E10 or, at most, E20 (20 per cent ethanol) fuel. High-ethanol fuel can therefore be used only in vehicles that the manufacturer has designed and certified with flex-fuel technology.

At the same event, Gadkari also spoke on the quality of national highways. Referring to complaints on social media about poor road conditions, he said about 700 to 800 projects have been reviewed.

Gadkari said firmly that there would be no compromise on highway quality. He also assured that within the next two years, travellers on the country's highways would not face potholes or any kind of trouble.