Ethanol blending in petrol remained steady at 20% in February 2026, with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) receiving 88.5 crore litres of ethanol during the month under the government’s blending programme, as per the data released by Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas).
Official data shows that 88 crore litres of ethanol were blended into petrol in February. During the current Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025–26, blending had reached 20% in November 2025 and has since been maintained at the same level.
According to the data, Public Sector Units (PSUs) held ethanol stocks of 77.8 crore litres in February 2026. Between November 2025 and February 2026, OMCs received 327.5 crore litres of ethanol, while total blending during the same period stood at around 353.7 crore litres.
In comparison, during ESY 2024–25, OMCs blended 1,022.4 crore litres of ethanol, achieving an average blending level of 19.2%.
OMCs have allocated around 1,048 crore litres of ethanol against offers of 1,776 crore litres submitted by manufacturers across the country for ESY 2025–26 (Cycle 1). Earlier, tenders were floated for the supply of 1,050 crore litres.
In terms of feedstock, maize accounts for the largest share at 45.68% (around 478.9 crore litres), followed by FCI rice at 22.25% (around 233.3 crore litres), sugarcane juice at 15.82% (around 165.9 crore litres), B-heavy molasses at 10.54% (around 110.5 crore litres), damaged food grains at 4.54% (around 47.6 crore litres), and C-heavy molasses at 1.16% (around 12.2 crore litres).
The steady rise in ethanol blending has helped reduce dependence on imported crude oil, leading to foreign exchange savings and supporting India’s transition towards cleaner energy.
With total ethanol production capacity now exceeding the requirement for the blending programme, industry players are calling for blending levels to be increased beyond 20%, citing underutilised capacity.
