Gadkari challenges critics to show one ethanol-damaged vehicle

Union minister Nitin Gadkari, speaking at the Bihar Investor Summit 2026 on Friday, 2 October, challenged critics to produce evidence of vehicles damaged by ethanol-blended petrol. ‘I challenge anybody to come up with the complaint that his or her vehicle has suffered damage on this account. Of course, those with vested interests may have some other story to tell,’ Gadkari said, as reported by PTI.

The minister said around 4 crore four-wheelers and 20 crore two-wheelers had run on blended petrol since 2022, and that leading automakers had tested vehicles on 100% ethanol with no complaints. Gadkari defended the ethanol-blending programme as an agricultural diversification move, saying farmers would become ‘urja data’ (energy producers). He said ethanol production from corn had generated additional earnings of up to Rs 45,000 crore for farmers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. He also noted that India imports conventional fuel worth Rs 22 lakh crore.

Gadkari described Bihar as a state with significant economic potential and praised Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s leadership. Choudhary urged investors to set up businesses in Bihar, promising a large market for quality products.