Union Minister Nitin Gadkari cleared the doubts of vehicles getting damaged after putting ethanol and said that it is propagated by the Petrol lobby, Speaking at the BusinessToday India@100 event, Gadkari said, “By putting 20% Ethanol-blended Petrol, has there been any car in the country that has faced issues? Just name one.”
He further stated about the scepticism on Ethanol-blended fuel for vehicles, “I shouldn’t say, but the Petroleum lobby manipulates this (noise on SM).” He also talked about organistations such as SIAM and ARI, reiterating the fact that no car has faced any issue by putting ethanol-blended petrol as fuel.
Boosting the agricultural economy
During the event, he also asked whether the 22 lakh crore oil import should not be reduced, and should people living in Delhi-NCR be free from pollution. He said, “We have surplus rice, corn and wheat, which is used for ethanol production. The price of corn has gone up to Rs 2,600 quintal from Rs 1,200 quintal due to demand for ethanol.”
During the event, he mentioned taking the contribution of the agriculture sector from 12 per cent to 22 per cent if there is diversification of the energy and power sector. He further stated that there could be vested interests of a few people but we should not worry, as there are government organisation that tests everything, and our ministry sets the standard.
Highway sector and rare earth metals
During the BusinessToday event, Gadkari mentioned that the annual highway construction target for FY26 is 38km per day, while future planning is to touch 100 km/day.
He said, “Highway projects worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore have been awarded so far, and we hope it touches Rs 10 lakh crore by the end of this fiscal.” He further highlighted that the sector will play a key role in the country’s development.
On the challenge posed by China’s rare earth curbs, the minister said that the government is working to expedite domestic lithium mining. “The mining sector has a lot of opportunities and ease of doing business options, with like all environment clearances completed in six months can expedite it,” he added.