Parliament was informed on Thursday that the number of road accidents in India increased by 5.30 per cent to more than 5.13 lakh in 2025, leading to an average of 21 deaths every hour.
In a written response to the Lok Sabha, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari stated that, on average, 59 road accidents occur every hour in the country.
During the 2025 calendar year, police departments across the states and Union Territories reported a total of 513,563 road accidents, resulting in 183,382 fatalities, Gadkari stated.
Among the states, the report noted that Tamil Nadu recorded the largest number of accidents at 71,387, while Uttar Pradesh registered the highest number of accident-related deaths at 27,550 in 2025.
He stated that the government has developed a comprehensive, multi-faceted plan to tackle road safety, built around the four E’s: Education, Engineering (covering both roads and vehicles), Enforcement, and Emergency Care.
In response to another query, the minister stated that, according to information provided by SIAM, there have been no reports of widespread engine failures or vehicle breakdowns linked to ethanol blending.
Certain issues regarding engine performance, fuel efficiency, and vehicle wear have increasingly emerged in public commentary and on social media, he said, noting that E15+ blended petrol has been widely used nationwide for more than three and a half years, while E19–E20 fuel has been in use for over two and a half years.
Gadkari stated that the government, through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has launched the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme after consulting stakeholders and conducting field trials and expert validations at every phase of the blending scale-up.
The minister stated that the EBP programme has been carried out using a phased, carefully calibrated, scientifically validated, and consultative approach.
He noted that it has been in worldwide use for more than a hundred years, and that countries like Brazil have been running higher ethanol blends for many decades.
He stated that in India, the EBP programme began with a pilot in 2001, followed by the introduction of E5 in 2006.
Although the blending level was only about 1.53 per cent in 2013–14, it has since been steadily raised in a calibrated way after establishing the required production capacity, infrastructure, and regulatory framework.
Before the introduction of E20, extensive laboratory studies, durability trials and field validation were undertaken covering engine durability, material compatibility, fuel systems, corrosion resistance, drivability, emissions, fuel economy and overall vehicle performance, Gadkari said.
In response to another query, he stated that a total of 10,389 km of National High-Speed Corridors have been sanctioned nationwide, with 4,809 km already completed and 5,580 km currently under implementation.
The government has put in place a system for routinely reviewing the progress of all ongoing National Highway projects, including national high-speed corridors and greenfield expressways.
This requires evaluation at both the state and central levels, engaging all relevant stakeholders, including the state government. It also calls for the use of technological tools to detect issues, obstacles, or delays at the project level, including those tracked through the PMG (Project Monitoring Group) portal.