The Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday met the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) to review the industry’s readiness for flex fuel vehicles.

The dialogue delved into how the industry is readying itself to launch vehicles that run on ethanol in the coming months, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) said.

The Minister also discussed how a shift to biofuels from fossil fuels will help India achieve Atma Nirbharta (self-reliance), besides reducing pollution, bringing down the annual import bill for fossil fuels, and helping consumers receive fuels at lesser price — all while benefiting the farmers, he added.

He asked SIAM members to look into ways of making them more acceptable to the public, citing Brazil’s successful integration of flex fuels and biofuels in its transportation.

Ethanol blending

On Monday, Gadkari said research on blending 15 per cent ethanol with diesel is in the advanced stages. At present, the government is aiming to mix 15 per cent ethanol with petrol in the ethanol supply year 2023-24, which commenced in November last year and concludes in October 2024.

The Minister at a CII event said the progress on building an ethanol ecosystem, where ethanol pumps can service vehicles that run on ethanol, is on the fast-track in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Gadkari added.

“Indian Oil (Corporation) has decided to put 400 ethanol pump stations. We will hold a meeting with stakeholders on this soon. We are meeting automakers as well, including Suzuki, Tata and Toyota. These auto makers have decided to launch flex-engine cars. Other vehicle-makers including TVS, Bajaj, Honda are ready with ethanol bikes and are waiting for the pumps to launch their bikes,” the Minister had said.

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