An ethanol petrol pump in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)

The Centre has paved the way for “flex fuel” vehicles to run on up to E100, nearly pure ethanol as the Road Transport Ministry notified changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules on Monday.

E100 fuel permits vehicles to run on nearly pure ethanol. A senior road transport ministry official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI that fuel beyond E20 (20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol) and up to E100 is intended only for vehicles designed and certified to use it and will not be applicable for other vehicles. Notably, vehicles that use E20 or normal fuel cannot use E85 or E100 fuel.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has altered certain vehicle classification thresholds, fuel specifications, and technical references used in emission-related tables and testing provisions.…