India’s biofuel drive is saving billions but also sparking worries

India has helped mix more biofuels with gasoline to reduce millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions and provide precious dollar reserves.

But it also raised concerns between car owners and food policy experts about its potential impact on fuel consumption and food security.

Last month, India achieved its 20 % -mixing goal with gasoline with gasoline, known as E20, five years before its goal.

This government is a changing games in reducing carbon emissions and reducing oil imports. Since 2014, mixing ethanol has helped reduce 69.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions and save 1.36 trillion rupee ($ 1.5 billion; 1.1 billion pounds) in foreign currencies.

A study by the Research Council in Delhi on Energy, Environment and Water Carbon dioxide emissions From land transport in India will almost double by 2050.

“The demand for fuel will only increase and move to ethanol mixed gasoline is extremely necessary to reduce emissions,” Sandep Ang of the Indian Green Energy Federation, an organization that enhances green energy, told BBC.

But many vehicles in India are not compatible with the E20, making their owners skeptical of the benefits of politics.

Hermazd Surabji, editor of the Autoocar India magazine, said that the ethanol has “a lower energy density of gasoline and more corrosive.” This leads to a decrease in the number of kilometers and exposes certain vehicle parts to a greater risk of tear.

Mr. Surabji added that some manufacturers such as Honda have used the materials compatible with E20 since 2009, but many old vehicles on Indian roads are not compatible with the E20.

Although there is no official data on the effect of E20 fuel on the engines, consumers routinely share stories about the deterioration of miles on social media.

Many of India’s standard insurance policies also do not provide damage to the use of unsafe fuel, an executive director on the Internet insurance platform, who wanted to remain unidentified, for the BBC.

He added: “Consumers need to take additional policies, but even those claims can be rejected or reduced based on the accurate printing of the policy.”

The Federal Ministry of Petroleum described these concerns as “largely unfounded.”

In a post on X, the ministry said that the engine control and the compatible materials of the E20 can reduce the decrease in miles. He also advised to replace certain parts of the old vehicles, saying that the process was inexpensive and “is easily done during the regular service of the car.”

Mr. Surabji BBC told that although the fears related to color are real, it is “not always bad as it was made.”

He said the biggest anxiety is the potential damage to vehicle materials due to E20 erosion.

Some car manufacturers offer ways to alleviate this.

Maruti Suzuki, the largest wheel maker in India, is likely to be presented E20 Materials Collection This may cost up to 6000 rupees ($ 69; 51 pounds). According to what was reported, the group will replace ingredients such as fuel lines, seals and glows. Bajaj, the dual -wheelchair maker, advised using a Fuel This may cost about 100 rupees ($ 1.15; 0.85 pounds) for a full gasoline tank.

But not all vehicle owners are convinced. Amit Pandnesse, who has a Marotie Suzuki in Delhi since 2017, is unhappy because gasoline pumps do not provide the option to choose a mix other than E20.

“Why should I be forced to buy gasoline, which provides fewer miles and then spent more to make the materials compatible?” He asked.

In 2021, a document on India moved to E20 published by Niti Aayog, a government research company, highlighted some of these concerns. Recommended the tax benefits to buy vehicles compatible with E20, as well as a decrease in the retail price of fuel.

The government defended its decision not to make recommendations, saying that at the time of the re -report, ethanol was cheaper than gasoline.

“Over time, the purchase price of ethanol has increased, and now the average price of ethanol is likely higher than the cost of refined gasoline” The Ministry of Petroleum said Earlier this month.

Not only consumers – it also pushed the government’s mixed fuel among climate researchers and food policy experts.

Ethanol is produced from crops such as sugar cane and corn, and expanded its use means converting agricultural products into more fuel manufacturing.

In 2025, India will need 10 billion liters of ethanol to meet the requirements of E20, according to government estimates. The request will reach 20 billion liters by 2050, according to the Intellectual Research Center in Bangaluru to study science, technology and politics (CSTEP).

Currently, sugar cane is used to produce about 40 % of ethanol in India.

This puts India in connection. You should choose between continuing its dependence on sugar cane – which contains a higher return for ethanol but it is thick of water – or using food crops such as corn and rice to produce fuel.

But the transformation comes with its own challenges.

In 2024, for the first time in decades, India became a net importer for corn, using large amounts of ethanol making.

Ramia Natarajan, a CSTEP research, said that the conversion of products had a significant impact on the poultry sector, which has now to spend more to buy corn for raw materials.

Moreover, the Food Corporation in India (FCI) agreed this year to an unprecedented allocation of 5.2 million tons of rice to produce ethanol. Rice is customized in FCI shares to be given to India’s poor at a subsidized rate.

Devinder Sharma, an agricultural expert, said this policy may lead to a “agricultural disaster within two years.”

“In a country like India, where 250 million people are affected by hunger, we cannot use food to feed cars,” said Mr. Sharma.

To meet the demand for ethanol through corn and a 50-50 microcopness – Niti Ayog – India will have to bring eight million additional hectares of land under corn cultivation by 2030, unless there was a radical increase in the return, according to CSTEP.

But even this can lead to problems.

“If farmers replace the cultivation of rice or wheat with corn, it will be sustainable because we have enough surplus of these crops. But we need other crops such as oil seeds and legumes as well.”

Ms. Natarajan added that the continuation of the E10 mix – mixed gasoline with 10 % of ethanol – could have been a more perfect option.

India, however, plans to go beyond E20.

“The country will now gradually expand towards E25, E27 and E30 in a calibration in stages,” said Petroleum Minister Hardip Puri recently.

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