India Ranks Second Lowest Globally in Fuel Price Hikes Amid Energy Strategy
India's fuel price hikes are minor globally, with the nation ranking second lowest. This stability stems from a focused energy strategy. The government balances energy security with affordability. India is promoting ethanol blending and flex-fuel vehicles. This transition is structural, accelerating cleaner energy adoption across millions of vehicles. Such moves align with India's long-term energy roadmap.
Petrol and diesel price increases in India have remained "very, very minor" compared with most countries despite global geopolitical disruptions, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday, while outlining an ambitious roadmap for the nationwide rollout of flex-fuel vehicles and ethanol infrastructure.
Speaking at the launch of Maruti Suzuki's WagonR Flex Fuel in New Delhi, Puri said India ranks among the countries with the lowest increase in fuel prices globally.
"In my calculation, India comes after Japan as the country which has the lowest increase in fuel prices amongst all the 193 countries in the world," he said.
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The minister linked the relative stability in fuel prices to India's broader energy strategy, which focuses on diversifying fuel sources, reducing dependence on imported crude oil and expanding the use of domestically produced biofuels.
Puri said flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) are poised for rapid expansion after E85 — a fuel blend containing up to 85% ethanol — was identified as the mono-fuel standard under Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications.
"I think success is ensured," he said, referring to the government's phased rollout plan for flex-fuel vehicles across segments.
According to Puri, the supporting fuel infrastructure is also being scaled up. The government plans to begin with around 50-100 ethanol dispensing stations across the Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridors, expanding the total to 500 by December this year. The network is expected to expand significantly over the coming months, with thousands of outlets planned across major cities by the end of next year.
The minister said the transition from conventional fuels to ethanol-based alternatives would not only contribute to cleaner mobility but also strengthen India's energy security and support rural incomes.
"This is not merely a product launch. This is the beginning of a new chapter in India's energy transition."
Puri noted that India has more than 30 crore two-wheelers and about 37 lakh passenger vehicles on its roads, making the adoption of flex-fuel technology in mass-market cars a potentially significant development for reducing fossil fuel consumption.
He also referred to the launch of India's first 100% ethanol-compatible motorcycle earlier this week, describing it as evidence that the country's flex-fuel ecosystem is expanding rapidly from two-wheelers to passenger vehicles.
The minister said the energy transition is unfolding against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and concerns over global oil supply routes, but argued that such developments only reinforce the need for India to accelerate fuel diversification and domestic energy alternatives.
Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said the company remains committed to supporting the government's ethanol-blending and alternative-fuel agenda, with the WagonR Flex Fuel representing a key step in bringing the technology to the mass market.
