Karnataka's tests found up to 31.2% ethanol in petrol sold as E20, and eleven of the fourteen published results crossed the 20% cap. I set aside the E20-versus-EV argument and treat this as what it is: a compliance and disclosure failure. I propose tested blend figures at every pump with E10 and E20 sold side by side, an E20 spoilage fund with an auditable claims trail, and joint NABL/ISO sampling with company representatives present. And I note the awkward juxtaposition: fuel was degraded for air quality in the week Delhi recorded its worst pre-Diwali air in eight years.
The number to hold on to is 31.2. Of the fourteen results Karnataka published on 6 November, eleven cross the 20% cap; the highest, from an Indian Oil outlet, reads 31.2% ethanol (The Hindu, 6 November 2026). Sixty-three samples came from pumps in seven districts.
In August last year I wrote that "a fuel program is only as good as the weakest logistical or quality link" (Ethanol at the Pump, 31 August 2025). I was thinking of water content and adulteration. I did not expect the weak link to be the nozzle.
Some figures, from the department's own table as carried by The Hindu:
- IOCL: 31.2% and 20.8%
- HPCL: 30.5%, 27%, 22.4%
- BPCL: 26.5%, 24.2%, 22.6%
- Shell: 25.5% and 13.5%; MRPL: 19.2%
Testing was by gas chromatography at Shriram Research Institute, Bengaluru, an NABL-accredited, ISO-certified laboratory (Hindustan Times, 7 November 2026). The same samples had earlier gone to IOCL's and BPCL's in-house labs, whose reports never mentioned ethanol content, though it is a prescribed parameter (The Hindu).
The companies answer with 893 samples across 27 states and Union Territories, 56 from Karnataka, all within 19-21%, Karnataka averaging 19.3% (Indian Express, 6 November 2026). Their one fair objection is that our sampling was unilateral: no company representative present, no retained sample shared.
That objection is worth conceding, because conceding it makes the consumer case stronger, not weaker. Three things would settle this:
- A number at the pump. Not a sticker saying E20, but that outlet's tested blend and the date of its last check, with a QR code to the certificate - and E10 and E20 sold side by side, so the owner of a 2014 car can choose.
- An E20 spoilage fund with a trail. Service-centre-certified damage, a sealed fuel sample drawn before the owner, the receipt's batch number matched to the depot dispatch record, a decision in 30 days, money to the owner's account, recovery from the company whose batch it was, and a public claims dashboard.
- Joint sampling. Two sealed samples at the pump, signed by both sides, tested by the referee method under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines, 2024, at a NABL/ISO lab with both parties present.
Then there is the sentence I cannot get past. E20 was sold to us partly as an emissions measure. On the same Friday, Delhi's 24-hour average AQI stood at 382, its worst pre-Diwali air in eight years, and CAQM invoked GRAP Stage III, barring BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel cars across Delhi and parts of NCR (Indian Express, 7 November 2026). Karnataka's estimate, which the companies contest, assumes a 10% mileage loss - more litres burnt per kilometre (Hindustan Times). We degraded everyone's fuel in the name of air quality, and the capital's air is the worst it has been at this point of the year in eight years.
I am not asking for a rollback tonight. I am asking for a number at the pump that someone has verified, a claim form that pays, and samples both sides seal. Karnataka says it will keep testing and publishing. Good - do it jointly.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.Iam-Immortal.ai / www.IndiaAGI.ai / www.YourContentCreator.in
7 November 2026
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