SC orders status quo on ethanol allocation to oil marketing companies; govt says fuel blending an experiment

THe sublime margaret court on tues ordered a position quo in a thing regarding increased ethanol supply allocation to oil marketing companies by the Karnataka high court.A partial court of Justice MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu, while hearing a petition filed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), ordered a status quo in the matter. The oil marketing company contested the earlier order directing them to increase ethanol allocation for 2025-26.BPCL, represented by Atorney General R Venkataramani, argued that the high court order could destabilise the national policy for the 20 per cent ethanol-petrol blending, PTI news agency reported.To be sure, India follows an ethanol blending programme, where 20 per cent ethanol is mixed with petrol, popularly known as E20 fuel.What govt's side told Supreme Court?Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the government, informed the Supreme Court that the ethanol blending programme is an ongoing experiment and the impact of the policy would be clearer by next year, according to India Today.Venkataramani said the ethanol supply contracts were concluded in October 2025.The top law officer said the ethanol allocation exercise attained finality on October 17, 2025, and allocations were communicated to 378 suppliers for a total supply of 1,050 crore litres of ethanol, of which 680 crore litres had already been supplied by them by June 18.While Venkataramani spoke of E-20 being rolled out on experimental basis, there was no government records mentioning a timeline. In turn, the government has proposed raising the ethanol blending to new limits.The blending programme has already became a contentious issue in the country, with people raising damage to older vehicles and reducing fuel efficiency.The government, meanwhile, has rubbished the concerns, saying there is no evidence to link the blended petrol to mechanical damage.What Karnataka high court order said?The matter began when an ethanol manufacturer approached the high court challenging the reduced allocation of ethanol supply.The distillery said the plant had a production capacity of 9.9 crore litres, but was only allotted 3.92 crore litres in 2025-2026, according to LiveLaw.The oil marketing companies opposed the policy saying if the oil marketing companies considers the plea of petitioner, it would require the government policy in itself to be changed.The Karnataka high court sided with the distillery and directed the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited to consider enhancement of ethanol allocation for 2025–26.Is there a timeline of govt's E-20 plan?The government amended the National Policy on Biofuels in 2022 and announced a gradual blending of ethanol in petrol.The target was to increase ethanol blending to 12.06 per cent in 2022-2023, 14.6 per cent in 2023-24 and 17.98 per cent in 2024-25 up to February 2025.The government has already achieved the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending.Though, the official policy mandates that no decision has been on increasing ethanol blending beyond 20 per cent, but union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri have suggested that the ethanol content can be raised to 85 per cent.