Share Historical Data On Petrol, Ethanol, Sector Profits: CIC Tells Oil Ministry Arm

Published 14 July 2026 · india

Share Historical Data On Petrol, Ethanol, Sector Profits: CIC Tells Oil Ministry Arm Published By, Last Updated: July 14, 2026, 09:03 IST CIC ordered PPAC

Share Historical Data On Petrol, Ethanol, Sector Profits: CIC Tells Oil Ministry Arm Published By, Last Updated: July 14, 2026, 09:03 IST CIC ordered PPAC to disclose historical data on petrol production, imports, ethanol procurement, blending, and profits, after PPAC provided partial information to an RTI applicant nFile photo for representatio (AFP) The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the Petroleum Ministry’s planning arm, to disclose historical data on petrol production and imports, ethanol procurement and blending, and profits in the petroleum sector after finding that it had provided only partial information to an RTI applicant. Information Commissioner Khushwant Singh Sethi instructed PPAC to furnish the available historical data via email, provide specific web links for ethanol blending notifications, transfer queries related to ethanol suppliers to the appropriate public authority, and issue a fresh response on company-wise petrol supplier information by invoking relevant exemptions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The RTI applicant had sought six sets of information related to India’s petrol and ethanol programme, including fuel production and imports, ethanol blending norms, procurement and consumption of ethanol, supplier details, and profits from petrol sales. During the hearing, the commission observed that PPAC had shared only “partial information" and ordered it to submit a revised response on multiple queries. For the first query, the applicant sought year-wise details since 2014-15 on petrol production, imports, purchases, expenditure and source-wise break-up. PPAC said production, import, export and state-wise data were available on its website but withheld company-specific details, citing commercial confidentiality under Sections 8(1)(d) and 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. However, after the applicant said the information was not easily available online, the commission directed PPAC to email the historical data available on its website. On ethanol blending, PPAC informed the commission that the Policy on Biofuels, 2018, governs the programme and that related notifications are available on the Petroleum Ministry’s website.

The CIC asked the authority to provide direct links to the relevant notifications and orders. The applicant also sought year-wise details of ethanol procured and consumed for blending. PPAC said the information was available in its monthly Snapshot of India’s Oil & Gas report. The commission directed the authority to share the historical data via email. On queries related to ethanol suppliers, including quantities supplied and contracts with oil marketing companies (OMCs), PPAC said it did not hold the information. The CIC directed it to transfer the request to the concerned public authority that maintains the records. The applicant also sought company-wise details of petrol suppliers, their contribution to total supply and copies of supply agreements. PPAC refused to disclose the information, citing commercial confidentiality. The commission asked it to issue a fresh reply, invoking the appropriate provisions of the RTI Act. For the final query on annual profits from petrol sales, profit margins and the methodology used to calculate them, PPAC referred the applicant to information on taxes collected by the Centre and states.