It was observed that ethanol blended diesel was not meeting diesel flash point as its flash point lowered drastically due to the presence of ethanol,” he said. The government has so far focused its ethanol blending programme on petrol and has set a target of 20 per cent blending. Gopi said no decision has been taken to raise ethanol blending in petrol beyond 20 per cent. State-run oil marketing companies floated their first tender in September 2025 to procure about 10.5 billion litres of ethanol for the 2025-26 ethanol supply year. This may also enable effective utilization of surplus ethanol production capacity in the country,” he said.