Ethanol Blending Will Turn Farmers Into ‘Energy Producers’: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday defended ethanol blending with petrol, saying the initiative was aimed at diversifying the agriculture sector and creating new income opportunities for farmers.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Bihar Investor Summit 2026, Gadkari said around four crore four-wheelers and 20 crore two-wheelers have been running on petrol blended with ethanol since 2022.

“I challenge anybody to come up with the complaint that his or her vehicle has suffered damage on this account,” Gadkari said, dismissing claims that ethanol blending was harming vehicles. The Road Transport and Highways Minister said the decision to promote ethanol blending was taken to diversify agriculture towards the energy and power sectors.

“Our farmers shall no longer remain ‘anna data’ (food producers) but also become ‘urja data’ (energy producers),” he said. Gadkari claimed that leading automobile manufacturers had tested vehicles running on even 100 per cent ethanol, without complaints.

He said the country currently imports conventional fuel worth around Rs 22 lakh crore, adding that promoting ethanol could reduce dependence on imported fuel while benefiting farmers. Gadkari said the Centre’s decision to promote ethanol production from corn had resulted in additional earnings of up to Rs 45,000 crore for farmers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

He also highlighted innovation in alternative fuels, saying aviation fuel had been produced using rice straw. “The future belongs to innovation, technology and research. And a state like Bihar has to play a key role in this direction,” he said.

Gadkari also pointed to Bihar’s potential in tourism and said there was strong international demand for makhana (Indian fox nuts), which is produced extensively in the state. Praising Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Gadkari said Bihar was poised to scale new heights.

Choudhary, in his address, urged investors to believe in and build in Bihar, assuring them that his government would provide access to a large market if their products met the required standards.