New Delhi: The sale of E20 petrol—petrol blended with 20% ethanol—has been made mandatory across India from today.
As per the Union government’s directive, all petrol pumps nationwide will begin supplying E20 fuel with effect from April 1.
The move is aimed at reducing crude oil imports, cutting environmental pollution, and improving farmers’ income through higher ethanol demand.
Alongside the rollout, vehicle prices are set to rise by 0.5% to 2% from today. Tata cars will see hikes of up to 0.5%, Tata commercial vehicles up to 1.5%, MG cars up to 2%, and luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi up to 2%.
Automakers attributed the increases to factors including the Middle East conflict, the rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar, higher steel and aluminium prices, rising shipping costs, and supply-chain disruptions.
