Regulatory clarity and consumer trust are as important as targets in energy transitions. Discuss with reference to India's biofuel policy.

India raised ethanol blending in petrol from below 1.5% in 2013-14 to 20% in ESY 2025-26 [6]. Yet the public worries over mileage and engine wear during the E20 rollout [1] show that a target can be met on paper and still lose the people it relies on. A transition lasts only if clear rules and user trust grow along with it.

Targets: what they achieved

• The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 first set 20% blending for 2030. Its 2022 amendment brought this forward to ESY 2025-26 [2].
• Oil marketing companies reached 19.05% average blending by July 2025 [3], and E20 was achieved in ESY 2025-26 [4].
• This cut crude imports and paid more to distilleries and farmers who supply the raw material.

Regulatory clarity: why it matters

• Split responsibility: MoPNG decides fuel and blending policy, while MoRTH regulates vehicles. In 2026, MoRTH amended Rules 115 and 115E of the CMVR, 1989 to add E100 alongside E85, which gives flex-fuel vehicles a legal basis for emission certification and testing [1].
• Enabling, not compulsory: The amendment says owners of existing vehicles do not have to switch or modify their vehicles [1]. This gives certainty to carmakers and owners alike.
• Remaining gaps: E100 is allowed only "subject to the applicable fuel specification" [1]. It also needs pump-price rules, because ethanol gives fewer km per litre than petrol. Without these, the permission may go unused.

Consumer trust: why it matters

• The NITI Aayog Roadmap (2021) warned that vehicles must be "designed holistically to prevent engine failure and low fuel economy". It also asked for E10 to stay available for older vehicles [5].
• MoRTH has said that E10 or E20 compatibility does not mean a vehicle is fit for E85 [1]. This makes the fuel-compatibility sticker and the owner's manual key safeguards [1].
• If people see the switch as forced, they resist it. If they understand the costs and benefits and have a real choice, they adopt it on their own.

Way forward

• Price higher blends per kilometre, not per litre, so that flex-fuel owners save money even after the mileage loss.
• Use clear labels and distinct pump nozzles, so drivers do not fill the wrong fuel.
• Publish independent data on mileage and engine wear before any target above E20.

India's biofuel progress came from ambitious targets. Keeping it going now depends on clear fuel standards, coordination between MoPNG and MoRTH, and openness with motorists. If ethanol is treated as a choice people make for themselves rather than a mandate, the programme can serve energy security and SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) while keeping public trust.