India mandates 5% ethanol blends

After several delays, India announced on October 9 that it would mandate 5% ethanol-blended gasoline sales across the country from this month onward and has also given oil refiners the option to sell up to 10% ethanol-blended gasoline. The government had planned to mandate E5 sales across the country last October but was forced to delay the plan due to infrastructure bottlenecks and the inability of refiners and sugar producers to arrive at a mutually acceptable price for the blend stock. (October 11, 2007)