The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) on Saturday, 7 November 2026 flatly rejected Karnataka's claim that petrol at certain retail outlets in the state contained excess ethanol, asserting that all 56 E20 samples tested in Karnataka under a nationwide quality-monitoring exercise complied with prescribed specifications and recorded ethanol content between 19% and 20%. The Centre simultaneously questioned the sampling and testing methodology adopted during the state's October 2026 exercise, calling the reported findings technically unverifiable.

What the National Audit Found

As part of a quality-coordination exercise run by the OMC/Centre for High Technology (CHT) Quality Coordination Cell, a total of 893 E20 samples were collected from 27 states and Union Territories and tested for ethanol content under IS 17021, Annex C, at refinery and oil-company quality-control laboratories. Of these, 330 samples were from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), 280 from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and 283 from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).

All 893 samples were found to contain ethanol within the prescribed 19–21% range. The 56 Karnataka-specific samples, covering different locations and all three public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs), averaged 19.30% ethanol — well within the E20 band and directly contradicting the state's reported findings of 26–31% blending.

Centre's Case Against the Karnataka Testing Process

The ministry said the three OMCs — IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL — had raised specific concerns about how Karnataka's October 2026 exercise was conducted. Under the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005, issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) 2024, six one-litre samples must be drawn at each outlet — two handed to the dealer, two retained by the oil company or department, and two sent to a designated laboratory.

The October exercise reportedly drew samples without the participation of OMC representatives. The companies have also not received corresponding retention samples, outlet-wise details, or laboratory reports, despite formally requesting them through the State Level Coordinator, the ministry said.

Critically, the state's findings reportedly relied on certificates issued by a third-party laboratory not specified under the Control Order, and the certificates themselves lacked key technical details — including the applicable standard test method, dilution procedure, and reference material used to determine ethanol content. These omissions, the ministry argued, prevented independent verification and denied companies and dealers the right to seek retesting.

Notably, the Centre flagged a physical inconsistency: samples reportedly containing 26–31% ethanol showed density readings lower than those recorded in E20 samples tested by the OMCs — an anomaly that the ministry said further underscored the need for prescribed testing methodology.

Disputed Consumer-Loss Estimates

The ministry also pushed back against Karnataka's estimate of an annual consumer mileage loss of around ₹62,000 crore and vehicle-repair costs of ₹39,000 crore — aggregating to approximately ₹1.01 lakh crore. The Centre said these figures required careful examination against established technical evidence and actual vehicle-performance data.

It cited studies by an Inter-Ministerial Committee, IOCL, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which found that vehicles calibrated for E20 may experience a mileage reduction of around 1–2%, while certain other vehicles could see approximately 3–6%, depending on category and calibration. Applying a blanket 10% mileage loss assumption across the entire vehicle population — the basis of Karnataka's estimate — was 'not scientifically established,' the ministry said.

It also pointed to real-world usage data: more than 30 crore two-wheelers and 4 crore four-wheelers have run on E20 for over three years, with over 6 crore people visiting petrol pumps daily, and no widespread vehicle breakdowns reported.

The Ethanol Programme: The Centre's Broader Case

The ministry defended the ethanol blending programme as a strategic pillar of India's energy security, agricultural economy, and climate targets. Since Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2014-15, the programme has reportedly delivered foreign exchange savings of over ₹1.97 lakh crore, substituted approximately 316 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil, reduced around 952 lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, and transferred more than ₹1.66 lakh crore to farmers.

During ESY 2025-26, ending 31 October 2026, PSU OMCs procured 1,089 crore litres of ethanol and blended 1,134 crore litres against petrol sales of approximately 5,673 crore litres, in pursuit of the national 20% blending target. The ministry also dismissed suggestions that OMCs had a commercial incentive to over-blend, noting that additional ethanol procurement would increase their costs — not reduce them.

The Centre said it remained committed to fuel quality, regulatory compliance, and consumer protection through established quality-assurance mechanisms, while reiterating that the existing E20 framework under IS 17021 (Bureau of Indian Standards) provides the legally applicable benchmark. The row is likely to escalate as Karnataka and the Centre are now operating on sharply divergent test results — with the state yet to respond to the methodological challenge.