Betul (South Goa), Oct 27 ,Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the Centre has no immediate plan to increase the ethanol blending in petrol above the current level of 20 per cent.

During an interaction at the inauguration of the 29th Energy Technology and Innovation Meet in South Goa, Puri also claimed that misinformation was being spread about biofuels.”In so far as biofuels are concerned, yes, the 20 per cent ethanol blending was the target, and there is no desire, just now, to increase it by more than 20 per cent,” he said in reply to a question.He also said that misinformation was being deliberately spread about E20 (20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol).The government has been promoting ethanol-blended petrol as part of its strategy to reduce dependence on imported crude oil, which is the leading factor behind the country’s current account deficit. The country has already rolled out E20 fuel, containing 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol.Puri said he saw a social media post which claimed that vehicles had stopped and were facing breakdowns, implying that the government stopped selling the blended fuel.He said that E20 blended fuel was compatible with the vehicles. “There was some problem with the older vehicles which were manufactured before 2003,” the minister pointed out.He said the introduction of E20 petrol helped the country save Rs 1,60,000 crore, of which Rs 1,40,000 crore was given back to farmers.”The farmers have become Urjadata (giver of energy) from Annadata (giver of food),” he remarked.Asked about problems reported by the E20 fuel users, Puri said, “I think there was a problem with the transportation of the blended fuel. The tankers which were used for transportation were also used for other things.””As far as the engine damage story is concerned, someone had made the claim and the particular automobile manufacturer has filed a case against him,” he pointed out.The minister said the misinformation about the E20 (fuel) was a “contrived narrative”.”Six crore vehicles go to the dispensing stations every day. If engine damage was caused, you could have seen the vehicles all over the place,” he added.The Road Transport Ministry on Monday notified changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, allowing flex-fuel vehicles that can run on up to E100 (near 100 per cent ethanol).Flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on higher ethanol blends such as E85 (85 per cent ethanol, 15 per cent petrol) and E100 (near 100 per cent ethanol). Leading auto manufacturers such as Toyota, Tata Motors, and Hyundai Motor Company are also developing flex-fuel vehicles for the Indian market.The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the meeting with the theme: ‘Accelerating Energy Innovation From Research to Commercialisation’ organised by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas at South Goa’s Betul village.