New Delhi, August 4: Amid rising concerns regarding fuel adulteration and quality, the central government clarified on Tuesday that regular monitoring of petrol and diesel quality is being conducted nationwide. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) stated that oil marketing companies (OMCs) are continuously overseeing fuel quality, with monitoring systems now more stringent than ever.
According to the ministry, checks for water ingress at over 87,000 petrol pumps across the country are now conducted 8 to 12 times daily. The government claims this helps ensure fuel quality and detect any potential discrepancies promptly.
The government also reported that only two cases of chloride contamination have been identified nationwide. Upon discovering these cases, fuel sales at the respective petrol pumps were immediately halted. The ministry emphasized that this demonstrates the active functioning of the monitoring system, which takes swift action upon detecting irregularities.
Regarding fuel quality checks, the ministry revealed that over 2,000 fuel samples have been tested for chloride and sulfide contamination. Additionally, oil companies have been instructed to maintain constant surveillance over the entire fuel supply chain to prevent any potential contamination or adulteration.
The government made it clear that strict action will be taken against any petrol pump found to have adulterated or contaminated fuel. The ministry stated that providing consumers with quality fuel is among its top priorities.
Meanwhile, in response to questions about the quality of E20 petrol, the ministry shared detailed information regarding the quality control process. It noted that the ethanol blended into petrol must comply with the Indian Standards Bureau (BIS) IS 15464 standards, requiring a minimum purity of 99.6 percent. A certified quality report is issued with each batch.
The ministry explained that several safety measures have been implemented to prevent any form of contamination in fuel, including dedicated storage facilities, regular quality testing, and sampling from ethanol tankers. Each batch of ethanol is tested by taking samples from both the top and bottom before acceptance.
The strictness of quality control is evident, as 302 tankers were rejected between July 2024 and June 2026 for failing to meet established standards, containing approximately 10,500 kiloliters of ethanol.
This clarification from the government comes at a time when certain media reports have raised questions about fuel quality and potential adulteration at select petrol pumps.
The ministry asserts that a robust monitoring and quality inspection system is in place nationwide, and all necessary steps are being taken to provide consumers with safe and standard-compliant fuel.
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