New Delhi, June 6 -- Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) Hardeep Singh Puri launched E85 fuel - a high-ethanol blend comprising 80-85 per cent ethanol and 14-19 per cent petrol - at an IndianOil retail outlet in New Delhi on Friday.

The fuel is specifically designed for flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which can operate on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E100.

Rollout and Scale-Up Plan

The launch commences across 48 public sector oil marketing company (OMC) retail outlets nationwide, with an ambitious expansion planned - to 500 outlets by December 2026 and approximately 5,000 outlets by December 2027. The initiative is expected to help raise India's aggregate ethanol blending level to nearly 26 per cent by 2030-31, accord...