Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that India has granted legal recognition to 100 per cent ethanol fuel, enabling vehicles to run entirely on ethanol. The move is expected to reduce dependence on petrol and accelerate the country’s transition towards cleaner energy sources.Speaking at an event in Nagpur, Gadkari said on Friday night, “I signed the file making rules for 100 per cent ethanol and giving it legal process.” He said ethanol would now serve as a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels.Expressing concern over India’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, Gadkari said ethanol would emerge as a viable alternative to petrol and help reduce the country’s annual fuel import bill of approximately Rs 22 lakh crore.As part of this transition, the minister highlighted the recent launch of a 100 per cent ethanol-compatible version of the Maruti Suzuki WagonR, unveiled in collaboration with Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. He added that several major automobile manufacturers were preparing to expand their offerings in this segment.Moreover, Hero MotoCorp has also introduced two flex-fuel motorcycle models capable of running on 100 per cent ethanol. He added that other major automobile companies, including Toyota, Suzuki, MG Motor and Hyundai, were expected to roll out ethanol-compatible vehicles within the next six weeks.The minister emphasised that ethanol blending and full ethanol-fuelled mobility could significantly reduce import dependence on crude oil while supporting India’s farmers through increased demand for ethanol feedstock.Recently, the E85 rollout commenced across 48 public sector OMC’s retail outlets (ROs) in the country, enabling flex-fuel vehicle users to access this cleaner fuel. The initiative is slated for nationwide expansion. The same would be scaled up to 500 ROs by December 2026 and about 5,000 by December 2027 and help raise India’s aggregate ethanol blending levels to nearly 26 per cent by 2030-31. E85 fuel is meant exclusively for specially designed flex-fuel vehicles, not for normal petrol vehicles.NITI Aayog officially classified ethanol-based Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), including vehicles running on high ethanol blends such as E85, as zero-emission vehicles. E85 fuel also produces near-zero particulate matter (PM) emissions, making flex-fuel vehicles a promising solution for addressing the country’s growing air pollution challenge.