Maruti Suzuki launches India's first flex-fuel car and government announces hydrogen pilot projects

Key facts

• Maruti Suzuki launched India's first flex-fuel passenger car, the Wagon R, which is engineered to run on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E100.
• The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways announced a pilot project to operate hydrogen-powered buses and trucks on 10 roads in collaboration with Reliance Industries, Tata Group, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), and Ashok Leyland.
• India currently produces 78,000 tonnes of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) per year, with the government aiming to transition the country into a net exporter of the fuel within two years.
• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has identified E85, a blend containing up to 85 per cent ethanol, as the mono-fuel standard to facilitate the rapid expansion of flex-fuel vehicles.
• The government plans to establish 500 ethanol dispensing stations by December, focusing initially on the Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridors.