Bengaluru: Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Prahlad Joshi has defended the Centre’s ethanol blending programme, stating that all 893 petrol samples tested across 27 States and Union Territories were within the prescribed ethanol content range of 19–21%. He has also questioned the reliability of Karnataka’s laboratory findings that reportedly detected ethanol levels of up to 31% in petrol samples.
According to a report by The Hindu, Joshi said on Tuesday, November 10, that all 56 samples tested by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Karnataka complied with the prescribed standards. The samples recorded ethanol content between 19% and 20%, with an average of 19.30%, he said.
Reacting to Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rizwan Arshad’s press conference on the issue, Joshi accused the state government of creating unnecessary controversy instead of addressing the matter responsibly.
Questioning the findings that indicated ethanol content of up to 31%, the Union Minister raised concerns over the testing procedures, including calibration, dilution methods and reference samples. He pointed out that the certificates issued by Karnataka laboratories mentioned ethanol percentages measured through Gas Chromatography but did not provide details of the testing methodology.
Joshi also cited differences in the density measurements of the tested samples. According to him, samples reporting ethanol content of 26–31% recorded densities between 0.742 and 0.749 g/cc, while OMC-tested samples that met E20 standards had densities ranging from 0.752 to 0.760 g/cc.
He argued that petrol containing more than 20% ethanol should have a considerably higher density than E20 fuel, but the Karnataka samples did not reflect this pattern.
The minister further questioned the laboratories’ certification, claiming that they were not included in the Schedule III list of laboratories notified in the government gazette. However, Arshad had clarified on October 9 that the laboratories involved in the testing were accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
Joshi said concerns over sample collection, retention procedures and laboratory certification raised questions about the credibility of the reported results.
Defending the Centre’s ethanol blending policy, Joshi also referred to the Congress-led UPA government’s earlier support for the programme. He recalled that former Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had stated in 2005 that the government intended to increase ethanol blending in petrol as and when its availability improved.
Joshi questioned the Karnataka Congress government’s current position on ethanol blending, pointing out that the initiative had originally received support during the party’s tenure at the Centre.
