A consumer driven automobile portal on its Instagram handle, 'Theracemonkey' has refused a government-backed collaboration to promote ethanol-blended petrol, dismissing it as “propaganda” even as social media users revealed that the Centre has hired influencers to push the campaign.
It said on Instagram, “A government led advertising agency called us to do a social media campaign on the benefits of Ethanol. Benefits? What benefits? The common man is bearing the cost of damage to the vehicle and the pocket.
As a consumer driven automobile portal, we said a big No to spreading misinformation.”
According to the instagram handle, the government brief had clear deliverables: one Instagram reel, one YouTube short, and one X post.
The content, it claimed, was to respond to concerns on 20 per cent ethanol blending and showcase it as beneficial for farmers’ income, rural economy, pollution reduction, elimination of sugarcane arrears, and improved viability of maize cultivation.
Abhishek Malhan, Mahesh Keshwala, Arun Kushwah, RJ Naved, RJ Praveen, Neha Nagar, Sanjay Kathuria and Vishal Rattewal were some of the influencers, who have agreed to promote government campaign, said a journalist from fact-checking website AltNews.
On August 8, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari dismissed the scepticism surrounding ethanol.
He challenged critics to “show a single instance” of ethanol-blended petrol damaging cars.
“This is not even a discussion. I don't know if I should say this, politically it appears the petroleum lobby is manipulating it,” Gadkari said, during an interview at a summit by Business Today.
While acknowledging mileage drops, he insisted ethanol does not harm vehicles. For him, the benefits were reduced crude oil imports, lower emissions, and better energy self-reliance.
India imports about 84 per cent of its crude oil, at global prices ranging from $40–$120 per barrel, and produces 16 per cent domestically.
E20 petrol is a mix of 80 per cent petrol and 20 per cent ethanol, an alcohol produced from sugarcane, molasses, and agricultural waste like paddy husk.
The government began with E10 blending in 2010, introduced by Indian Oil before Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum followed. In 2020, after BS6 emission norms became standard, the ratio was doubled to 20 per cent.
E20 is blended at refineries and supplied across PSU fuel stations for all petrol grades, except high-performance fuels like 100-octane petrol.
The government maintains that diverting crop residue into ethanol provides farmers additional income, curbs stubble burning, and reduces rural pollution.
But motorists and mechanics say the ground reality is more complicated. On August 9, The Telegraph Online reported concerns from veteran motorists, petrol pump staff and workshops that E20 causes performance compromises, particularly for vehicles manufactured before 2023.
The petroleum ministry itself has admitted that four-wheelers designed for E10 but calibrated for E20 may see a 1–2 per cent mileage reduction. Other vehicles may experience drops of 3–6 per cent.
Asish Bagchi, owner of Kolkata’s oldest petrol pump, Indian Oil Metropolitan Transport Co. told The Telegraph Online: “The E20 blend works adequately in BS6-compliant vehicles but reduces mileage compared to pure petrol. The same car, same load, same driver — in India I never got more than 12 km/l in my XUV700. The moment I crossed into China on a road trip to London, the mileage jumped to 15–16 km/l, and the power and smoothness improved drastically.”