Kejriwal's claim that E20 was imposed for US ethanol imports is misleading

What we found

Arvind Kejriwal’s claim is misleading. India does import ethanol from the US, so that part has a basis. But the E20 target was set in a government roadmap published in June 2021, the Commerce Ministry says ethanol for blending comes entirely from domestic producers, and US export data show volumes below the one billion litres he cited for last year and far below the five billion he predicted for this year.

The part that holds up is narrow. US data do record ethanol shipments to India every year from 2020 to 2025, and a USDA report covering 2022 forecast that India’s imports would come nearly all from the United States. Neither source links those shipments to E20 or to a demand from Washington.

E20 and the ethanol import question

1. Jun 2021NITI Aayog roadmap sets 20% ethanol blending target by 2025
2. 2025US fuel ethanol exports to India: 4,471 thousand barrels (EIA)
3. 6 Aug 2026Commerce Ministry says no commitments on US fuel ethanol imports
4. 7 Aug 2026Kejriwal links E20 to US pressure in Panaji

The evidence

1

What Kejriwal said

Speaking to reporters in Panaji on 7 August 2026, Kejriwal said: “To create demand for American ethanol, India is being forced to implement E20 and import the substance from the US.” PTI reported that he said India imported one billion litres of ethanol from the US last year and would import five billion litres this year.

Source:PTI via ThePrint, 7 August 2026

2

The E20 target was set in 2021

NITI Aayog’s “Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25”, published in June 2021 by an expert committee, proposed a phased rollout “to achieve the target by 2025”. Its capacity tables plan for 20% blending by 2025-26.

Source:NITI Aayog, June 2021

3

The government says blending ethanol is domestic

On 6 August 2026, a day before the Goa remarks, the Commerce Ministry said: “No concessions or commitments relating to the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the U.S. have been made in the India-US trade discussions.” It added that “any suggestion of a policy change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the US is misleading”. It said blending ethanol is “sourced entirely from domestic producers”. The same report put ethanol production capacity at about 19 to 19.9 billion litres a year and E20 demand this ethanol year at about 11 billion litres.

Source:PTI via Business Standard, 6 August 2026

4

US export data show smaller volumes

The US Energy Information Administration records 4,471 thousand barrels of ethanol exported to India in 2025, about 71 crore litres, and 1,055 thousand barrels from February to July 2026, about 17 crore litres. A USDA report on India covering 2022 forecast about 635 million litres of imports driven by industrial-grade demand, “nearly all from the United States”.

Sources:EIA annual dataEIA monthly dataUSDA FAS, IN2022-0056

Why this claim spread

Kejriwal made the remarks while campaigning against E20. PTI reported that he told reporters many vehicles were “not designed to run on E20 fuel” and urged people to stop buying petrol and diesel vehicles for now. The Commerce Ministry’s statement a day earlier was itself a response to media reports about US ethanol imports during the India-US trade talks.

Sources:PTI via ThePrint, 7 August 2026PTI via Business Standard, 6 August 2026