MoPNG launches E85 fuel

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) launched E85 fuel at an outlet of Indian Oil Corporation Limited on June 5, 2026. The roll-out has commenced for 48 retail outlets of OMCs. It is targeted to be deployed across 500 outlets by December 2026 and 5,000 outlets by December 2027. E85 comprises around 80-85 per cent of ethanol and 14-19 per cent of petrol, designed for use in flex-fuel vehicles. The move is expected to promote the adoption of flex-fuel vehicles that can run on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E100. The move is expected to take the aggregate ethanol blending levels in India to around 26 per cent by 2030-31.