Keralam orders testing of petrol samples for ethanol content, with Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob directing checks in four districts
8 November 2026
The Keralam government has ordered laboratory testing of petrol sold in the State to find out whether the ethanol in it goes beyond the permitted level. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob issued the direction after discussing the question with the Chief Minister. Samples are to be drawn from petrol outlets in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur. The testing is to be done in NABL-accredited laboratories in those districts. Petrol in India is now sold as E20, in which ethanol is blended with petrol up to a fifth of the volume. The order follows claims raised in Karnataka that the ethanol in petrol sold there was above the permitted limit, a claim the oil companies and the Union petroleum ministry have rejected.
In plain words
E20 Petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol — The fuel grade now sold at Indian outlets, in which ethanol makes up a fifth of the volume.
NABL National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories — The body that accredits testing laboratories in India; its accreditation is what makes a laboratory's test report acceptable.