Ashwini Srivastava, Joint Secretary at Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), said the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme helped India save over ₹1.90 lakh crore in foreign exchange. Achieving 20% ethanol blending has enabled India to reduce its dependence on imported crude, he said. His comments come amid a nationwide debate over a shift to ethanol-blended petrol.