Kerala samples petrol after Karnataka claims excess ethanol in E20 fuel
Kerala began sampling petrol at fuel outlets in four districts on 9 November 2026. It acted after Karnataka's government claimed tests showed up to 31.2% ethanol in E20 petrol, meant to carry 20%. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on 7 November that 893 samples from 27 States and UTs met the BIS specification.
Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS2 · Federalism & Local Government; GS3 · Infrastructure
Why this matters for UPSC
GS3 economy and energy: the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme and fuel-quality rules. Prelims can ask about IS 17021 and the 2005 Control Order; Mains, Centre-State fuel testing.
Why it matters
A motorist filling up in Bengaluru or Kozhikode cannot tell how much ethanol is in the tank, and depends on the State and the oil companies to check it. When a State's test and the companies' own tests disagree, neither can settle the matter unless the sample was drawn and tested by the same agreed rules. Shared counter-samples let a dealer or a company ask for a retest, and a common method lets a result stand against a pump. The dispute also shows how a Central order works when States enforce it, and whether public trust in the move to E20 can hold while blending figures are contested.
Prelims pointers
- The 2005 Control Order lets authorised gazetted officers of the Centre or a State, police not below Deputy Superintendent, and oil company sales officers take fuel samples.
- Under the Control Order, petrol is drawn as six one-litre samples: two go to the dealer, two stay with the oil company or department, two go to a laboratory.
- The Control Order lets the Centre make supply of petrol or diesel blended with a set quantity of anhydrous ethanol or bio-diesel mandatory, in a State or nationwide.
- BIS specifications differ by fuel: IS 2796 covers motor spirit (petrol), IS 1460 high speed diesel, and IS 17021 ethanol-blended motor gasoline.
- IS 17021 lets ethanol be measured by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), water extraction or gas chromatography; the last needs 1:1 dilution and an E10 certified reference material.
- Ethanol is denser than petrol, so a higher ethanol share would ordinarily raise a blend's density.
- The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 widened ethanol feedstock beyond sugarcane to maize and surplus grain; NITI Aayog's 2021 roadmap charted the move from E10 to E20.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005, consider the following statements:
1. It was made by the Central Government under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
2. A police officer not below the rank of Inspector may be authorised to take fuel samples under it.
3. It defines adulteration by reference to the Bureau of Indian Standards specifications for motor spirit and high speed diesel.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. The Order comes from the Essential Commodities Act and ties adulteration to BIS specifications; the police rank is wrong.
Statement 1: correct. The Centre issued the 2005 Order using its power under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to make control orders.
Statement 2: incorrect. The Order lets an authorised police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police inspect and take samples, not an Inspector.
Statement 3: correct. Adulteration is adding a foreign substance so that the fuel fails BIS specifications IS 2796 (petrol) or IS 1460 (diesel).
Eliminate: Statement 2 names the wrong rank, so any option with 2 goes. Out: (a), (b), (d).
Trap: Near-miss figure. The rank is pulled one step down from Deputy Superintendent to Inspector, which sounds just as plausible for a field check.
Remember: Fuel samplers under the 2005 Order: gazetted officers, police from DSP up, oil company sales officers.
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