Government nonsense claims Bhutan rejected E20 petrol imports: ‘No export proposal’ | Today’s news
Rejecting reports that oil marketing companies (OMCs) in India were offering E20 petrol to Bhutan, the government said on Sunday (July 5) that there was no proposal to export E20 petrol to the neighboring country.
The government has issued a clarification on a report by the Bhutanese published last week, alleging that Bhutan has refused to import E20 fuel from India. It also quoted officials as saying that prior notice would be required to introduce any such imports in the future.
A fact-check by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Sunday debunked those claims. “Claims that Bhutan has rejected an offer to import E20 petrol from India are incorrect,” the ministry said in a post on X.
He added, “No such offer has been made by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and there is no proposal to export E20 petrol to Bhutan.”
The ministry also urged citizens to “only rely on official information from MoPNG and oil marketing companies”.
Earlier on Saturday, the Congress claimed that Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had rejected Indian fuel. “Only we Indians are left at the mercy of these idiots” Kerala Congress he wrote on X and shared a screenshot of the message.
The news comes as concerns have been raised about the performance and reliability of the newly introduced E20 fuel blend.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting clarified: “E20 fuel was introduced only after extensive laboratory, automotive and field testing by India’s leading engineering institutions. Science has led the way to ensure reliability, performance and confidence on every journey.”
The government has clarified that the automotive industry is adapting vehicles to the prescribed ethanol blending standards.
The use of approved E20 fuel does not automatically void the manufacturer’s warranty simply because of the use of ethanol-mixed gasoline, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Ethanol blending is a scientifically designed, internationally recognized fuel formulation implemented (in countries such as Brazil) under India’s Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme. It follows established fuel quality standards and is not fuel adulteration.
Earlier extensive testing by ARAI, Indian Oil R&D and IIP found no significant engine life or E20 performance issues in older vehicles. As of April 1, 2025, millions of vehicles are already running on E20 (E20 rollout) without any evidence of engine failure attributable to the fuel, the ministry further said.
