India, Aug. 12 -- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Tuesday cited NITI Aayog's study on Ethanol and backed the usage of E20 petrol, saying that it not just gives "better acceleration and better ride quality", but also benefits the farmers of the country.

The Centre said that E20 petrol also lowers carbon emissions by approximately 30 per cent as compared to E10 fuel.

The development comes just days after Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said that there was no merit in arguing that mixing 20 ethanol in petrol (called E20) reduces mileage of vehicles.

"This is not even a discussion. I don't know if I should say this, politically - it appears the petroleum lobby is manipulating it," he said while responding to a question a...