New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday (July 1) denied telling the Supreme Court that its E20 blending programme is an “ongoing experiment” and that “the impact of the policy would become clearer by next year”, after several media reports quoted the attorney general as saying so. According to a report by Economic Times, Attorney general R. Venkataramani told the Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 30) that the E20 blending programme is an “ongoing experiment” and that its full impact will become clearer by next year. The top court was hearing a petition filed by state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited against a June 23 Karnataka high court order directing enhancement of ethanol allocation.The court has asked state-run oil marketing companies to keep ethanol supply allocations for Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26 unchanged. Several other media publications also reported the same.However, in a press release, the Ministry of Law and Justice said that the reports are “completely false and do not reflect anything even close to the actual submissions made before the Hon’ble Court”.“During the hearing, the learned Attorney General submitted that similar writ petitions involving identical issues concerning allocation of ethanol to Dedicated Ethanol Plants are presently pending before different High Courts,” it said.“At no stage was any submission made that the Government’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme or the E20 blending programme is an “experiment”,” the ministry stated, urging the media to report judicial proceedings with accuracy, “particularly in matters involving important national policy initiatives”.Meanwhile, Economic Times separately reported that the government has begun testing E25 petrol – petrol mixed with 25% ethanol – on vehicles to gauge the performance of the blend in its efforts to increase the use of the locally-sourced biofuel and reduce dependence on imported crude oil.According to the report, which cited senior government officials, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has been tasked with the E25 study and that it has begun the testing on E10-and E20-compliant vehicles.The government has already mandated the sale of E20 fuel, or petrol blended with up to 20% ethanol, in April as part of its Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, despite repeated criticism from consumers and industry experts, many of whom complained about reduced fuel efficiency.Experts have also pointed out that if India wants to allow higher ethanol blending with petrol by increasing E20 level, the country will have to ban sugar export.On May 18, the government further notified the standards for petrol to be blended with up to 30% ethanol amid the energy crisis arising from the ongoing situation in West Asia due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.