Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari defended the government’s ethanol-blending programme, saying in an interview that another avenue is open for motorists who dislike blended fuel. “Those who do not want ethanol-blended fuel can take 100% petrol, but they will have to pay more,” he said.
The comments come amid concerns about the nationwide rollout of E20 petrol – a blend of 20% ethanol with petrol – with some motorists complaining of lower mileage and accelerated wear of older engines.
The government has said some vehicles may see mileage drop by a few percentage points on E20, but claimed the blend is a clean fuel, provides some energy security to India by reducing the amount of crude oil imported, and there is no evidence of engine damage.
However, for consumers looking for nearly pure gasoline the choice is not straightforward. Here’s what’s actually on offer:
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100-octane bracket
The closest alternative to pure petrol at Indian fuel stations is the small family of 100-octane fuels.
Indian Oil Corporation’s XP100, launched in December 2020, is an example. According to Indian Oil, XP100 is manufactured at the company’s Mathura refinery using an indigenous refining process called OCTAMAX.
At the time of launch, the government noted how 100-octane fuel was part of “a niche market for luxury vehicles demanding high performance”.
Estimates suggest that XP100 has negligible or effectively no ethanol content.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) sells another 100-octane brand, Power100. In response to a customer query in August last year, HPCL had said that Power100 had ethanol content up to 4.5% in its variants.
Separately, Bharat Petroleum sells Speed100.
The basis for the low ethanol content in octane-100 fuel is the target customer: typically high-performance vehicles such as luxury, sports cars or classics rely on full-petrol fuel because they need to maximize energy output and provide the stability that older or higher-compression engines require. Ethanol packs less energy, per unit volume, than pure petrol.
Another factor noted by car enthusiasts is that 100-octane petrol moves slowly through the retail chain because it is a niche product. This means that fuel often sits in underground storage tanks at petrol stations for long periods of time. If mixed with ethanol, the risk of water contamination and fuel deterioration may increase as ethanol is hygroscopic and can absorb moisture from the air. Refiners avoid that potential problem by keeping blends at low levels or opting for nearly pure gasoline.
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Who can actually buy it?
Refiners say octane-100 gasoline, although developed for high-performance engines that require more knock-resistant fuel, can be used for standard cars.
Indian Oil said on its website that the use of XP100 for standard cars “will offer smoother engine operation with improved performance in terms of fuel economy, emissions and acceleration” although the “overall benefits” are “increased when used in matched engine configurations”. To put it plainly, the fuel will run in a regular sedan or hatchback, and may provide a smoother drive, but a mass-market engine can’t take full advantage of 100-octane.
A significant barrier to widespread adoption of 100-octane gasoline is their cost. At present, these fuels are expensive ₹167- ₹Rs 170 per liter in Delhi, about 60% more than normal petrol.
Availability is another hurdle. These are available in most cities, and that too at select pumps. For consumers outside metros, 100-octane – or ethanol-free – petrol is largely inaccessible.
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Other high-octane fuels
Some premium petrols in the market – HPCL’s Power99, Bharat Petroleum’s Speed97, Shell’s V-Power – are sometimes considered to carry less ethanol than regular E20.
This notion combines two different characteristics.
Octane rating measures the stability of a fuel under compression. The higher the number, the more the fuel will resist auto-ignition, which the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) defines as the condition “when unburned fuel ignites due to increased temperature and pressure from primary combustion”. That secondary, uncontrolled combustion is what drivers hear as engine knocking, which can damage the pistons over time.
Ethanol content, on the other hand, simply reflects how much bio-derived alcohol has been blended into the petrol.
The two can go together – ethanol has an octane rating of about 108 RON (research octane number), so blending it by 20% increases the total octane of regular fuel by about six RON. Since this April, all petrol available in India is at least 95RON – a mandate that is largely thought to be possible due to the mandatory 20% ethanol blending.
In contrast, premium gasoline may have a higher octane rating while still containing 20% or less ethanol.
HPCL’s tweet said: “Ethanol content ranges from around 20% in regular petrol, 15% in Power95, 11% in Power99 and 4.5% in Power100. These blends help reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency.”
In August 2025, Indian Oil also said on the issue that XP95 was blended with “either 10% or 12%” ethanol depending on the supply location, but it is unclear whether the product retains the same ethanol blending ratio today.
So what explains the tales of improved acceleration and fuel efficiency that many people are experiencing? It’s just that petrol, per unit volume, packs more energy than ethanol.
But the debate is not just about acceleration or mileage. Many are also concerned that their cars, typically those sold before 2023, are not equipped to deal with E20. Higher ethanol also requires some component changes because this fuel can more easily corrode some rubber components.