The Central Government has exempted higher ethanol-blended petrol from excise duty, giving a boost to India's efforts to increase the use of cleaner and domestically produced fuels.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday, petrol blended with ethanol levels ranging from 22 per cent to 30 per cent will attract zero excise duty. The exemption covers E22, E25, E27 and E30 fuel variants that comply with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications.