Hardeep Singh Puri launches India's first flex-fuel passenger vehicle

📌 Summary:

• Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched India's first flex-fuel passenger vehicle (by Maruti Suzuki); such vehicles run on ethanol-petrol blends from E20 up to E100
• Farmer-income link: if 50% of new two- and four-wheelers sold in India run on flex-fuel, it could generate an additional Rs 12,403 crore income for farmers, advancing Aatmanirbhar Bharat
• Energy security context: before hostilities (28 February), ~60% of India's LPG imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz; India maintained uninterrupted supplies with no dry-outs during the West Asia crisis
• India recorded one of the lowest global fuel-price increases; central excise on petrol/diesel was cut by Rs 10/litre; domestic LPG output raised from 32 to ~52 TMT/day
• India's ethanol-blending programme - built via a whole-of-government approach with farmers, producers, OMCs and manufacturers - uses multiple feedstocks (broken grains, agri-waste, biomass), cutting oil imports and emissions

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Environment/Energy - biofuels and ethanol blending, energy transition, import substitution and farmer incomes.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Flex-fuel vehicles run on blends from E20 to E100 (E100 = pure ethanol-grade fuel)
• Potential additional farmer income: Rs 12,403 crore if 50% of new vehicles are flex-fuel
• Central excise duty on petrol and diesel cut by Rs 10 per litre; domestic LPG output up from 32 to ~52 TMT/day

🔑 Key Term: Flex-Fuel Vehicle (FFV) - a vehicle with an engine that can run on more than one fuel or blend, typically varying petrol-ethanol mixtures up to E100.