Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced plans to introduce vehicles running entirely on ethanol, saying the move would help cut India’s annual fuel import bill of nearly Rs 22 lakh crore and address growing pollution concerns, The Focus India reported. Gadkari made the announcement while speaking in Pune, though he did not specify a launch timeline.
The minister said the shift to 100 per cent ethanol-powered vehicles could bring significant changes across the agriculture, sugar, and automobile sectors. He did not outline a specific date by which such vehicles would be available in the market.
The experts said ethanol could be made available to consumers at Rs 60 to 65 per litre, which could translate into a direct reduction in fuel costs of between 30 and 40 per cent. The report further noted that since ethanol is produced from surplus sugarcane, damaged maize, or rice, the transition could deliver a boost of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to the rural economy.
The report drew a comparison with Brazil, where 80 per cent of vehicles are said to operate on flex-fuel technology. In India, automakers Toyota, Bajaj, and TVS have already begun work on vehicles capable of running on ethanol-based fuels, according to the report.
The announcement signals a renewed push by the central government to accelerate ethanol adoption in the transport sector, which would directly benefit sugarcane farmers and the sugar industry by creating additional demand for ethanol produced from cane and its derivatives.
