UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What lies beyond India’s E20 push

Q1. Under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, how many Union Territories of India lie outside the programme's area of operation?

  • A. None; the programme operates across the entire country
  • B. Two
  • C. Five
  • D. Seven

Q2. The Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, under which E20 petrol is retailed in India, is administered by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, through public sector oil marketing companies
  • B. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, through the National Bioenergy Programme
  • C. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, through the Central Motor Vehicles Rules machinery
  • D. The Department of Food and Public Distribution, which alone regulates all ethanol supply in India

Q3. The advancement of India's 20% ethanol blending target to Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26 was effected through which one of the following?

  • A. The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, as amended in 2022
  • B. The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, as originally notified, which itself fixed 2025-26 as the target year
  • C. The NITI Aayog Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25, which carries statutory force
  • D. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022, which prescribes minimum biofuel shares

Q4. Which one of the following was the earliest of these milestones in India's ethanol blending programme?

  • A. Extension of the EBP Programme to the whole of India barring two Union Territories
  • B. Attainment of 10% average blending by public sector oil marketing companies
  • C. Commencement of E20 sales by public sector oil marketing companies at select outlets
  • D. Commencement of production of vehicles with engines tuned for E20

Q5. Interest subvention for setting up new distilleries or expanding existing ones to produce ethanol from grains and molasses is extended by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Food and Public Distribution
  • B. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, which funds all farm-linked processing capacity
  • C. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, through its industrial incentive window
  • D. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, through the public sector oil marketing companies

Q6. The feedstock-wise ethanol procurement prices at which public sector oil marketing companies buy ethanol - with separate rates for the C-heavy molasses, B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice routes - are approved by which one of the following?

  • A. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
  • B. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, which also fixes the Fair and Remunerative Price of sugarcane
  • C. The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, which notifies all administered fuel prices in India
  • D. The Bureau of Indian Standards, in consultation with the oil marketing companies

Q7. The official estimate that E20 lowers fuel economy by 2% to 6% depending on vehicle category and vintage was placed before Parliament in 2026 by the Union Minister holding which portfolio?

  • A. Road Transport and Highways
  • B. Petroleum and Natural Gas
  • C. Heavy Industries
  • D. Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

Q8. Under the phased vehicle-compatibility schedule followed during the E20 rollout, manufacture of vehicles with engines tuned for E20 was to begin from which of the following?

  • A. April 2025
  • B. April 2023
  • C. February 2023
  • D. April 2019

Q9. The Automotive Research Association of India, which validated E20 for engine durability, corrosion resistance and material compatibility, functions as an autonomous body under which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Heavy Industries
  • B. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which notifies automotive industry standards
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology, through the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
  • D. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, through the Indian Institute of Petroleum

Q10. According to the Government's 2026 assessment, the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme has so far substituted crude oil imports of approximately how much?

  • A. 216 lakh metric tonnes
  • B. 266 lakh metric tonnes
  • C. 316 lakh metric tonnes
  • D. 416 lakh metric tonnes

Q11. In discussions of global ethanol blending policy, the term 'blend wall' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The practical ceiling on ethanol absorption set by a vehicle fleet warranted only for low blends
  • B. The minimum ethanol share refiners must blend each year under a statutory renewable fuel obligation
  • C. The limit beyond which ethanol and petrol separate into layers when water enters storage tanks
  • D. The tariff barrier importing countries raise against ethanol to protect domestic cane growers