Nitin Gadkari is being accused of benefiting his family’s stake in companies through the E20 fuel policy (10% to 20% ethanol blend in petrol) reaction.
SNPNEWS.IN Update: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is (Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways since 2014) and former BJP President and MP from Nagpur, is facing allegations of clear financial benefits in family businesses through a company associated with his son, Nikhil Gadkari, which is a leader in ethanol production, in the case of promoting ethanol blend in petrol (E20 policy).
● CIAN Agro Industries and Infrastructure Limited Controversy:
According to sources, CIAN Agro Industries and Infrastructure Limited, which has been operating since 13 September 1985. In the initial phase, the company was involved in steel and other businesses. In 2016, it entered the agro-processing and ethanol production sector with Nikhil Gadkari, son of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, as its Managing Director. CIAN Agro Industries and Infrastructure Limited currently produces ethanol and bio fertilizers from sugarcane, maize and other organic agricultural products.
In January 2024, CIAN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chennai’s Ram Charan Group to produce ethanol from CO2 (a distillery by-product), with the aim of scaling up eco-friendly. During this period, the Union Minister and the Department also widely promoted and implemented the blending of 10% ethanol in vehicle oil. India has made 20% ethanol mandatory in petrol across the country from July 2025, which was earlier 10%. It uses ethanol from sugarcane, corn and other crops.
As of January 2024, CIAN Agro Industries and Infrastructure Limited had a market value of Rs 17-18 crore and a share price of Rs 39-40. This is expected to increase to Rs 1870 crore and a share price of Rs 700 by August 2025.
As Managing Director, Nikhil oversees CIAN’s ethanol operations, which are a key revenue driver. The company supplies ethanol to oil marketing companies (OMCs) for blending,
● Purti Group Land Mortgage Scandal (2018):
Apart from the Purti Group, owned by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s family, which operates 17 sugar mills and was established in 1995. A petition was filed in a Nagpur court accusing Gadkari of fraudulently transferring a plot owned by the Polysac Industrial Cooperative Society (of which RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were shareholders) to Purti Solar Systems Private Limited, a company linked to the minister.
The land was then mortgaged to obtain a loan of ₹42.83 crore to another firm, GMT Mining and Power Limited, where his sons Nikhil and Sarang were then directors. RSS members alleged that the cooperative shareholders were bypassed for this transfer. Gadkari had denied any involvement in the matter, calling it a smear campaign. The case exposed over 1,300 affected shareholders but was not resolved in court until 2025.
● Gadkari’s Statement About CIAN Agro Industries and Infrastructure Limited Controversy:
Gadkari, denying his personal interests, says the promotion of ethanol began in 2001 under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said the government’s aim is to reduce the country’s petrol import bill by ₹15 lakh crore annually through the use of ethanol and increase farmers’ income through biofuel. Gadkari has dismissed the claims as “misinformation” from the “petroleum lobby”.