Committee report on upcoming Auto Fuel Policy to be out by November-December 2013

Pune, October 8, 2013: Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Diesel Emissions Conference in Pune, Soumitra Choudhury, member, Planning Commission, said that the committee which was set up earlier this year by the government of India to devise new emission norms and other recommendations will make announcements by November-December 2013. “We plan to come out with the announcement by end-November or it might spill over to December but the new regulations will definitely be out within this calendar year,” said Choudhury.

Choudhury also hinted that whenever BS V emission norms would be suggested, it would be implemented in the similar fashion as the BS IV emission norms. According to government sources, the oil industry has undertaken a massive task of upgrading the fuel quality of auto fuels to BS III and BS IV grades and has invested roughly Rs 30,000 crore on the same. Currently, BS IV fuel is supplied to nearly 30 cities in India while BS III fuels are distributed across the country. Autocar Professional understands that the government of India is making significant efforts to increase the coverage of BS IV fuel supply to more cities (65) in the short- and mid-term.

On a question to curb adulteration in diesel fuel, Choudhury said that “passing legislation does not mean that people will start following it. Kerosene is mixed with diesel to adulterate it. While kerosene is highly subsidised, we are more concerned about this issue for fiscal reasons as the government has to bear a huge cost only from the subsidised kerosene. If there are solutions and we can learn from it, please flag them.”

Commenting on the loophole in the implementation of the dual fuel policy in India where national truck carriers, which are registered in cities where BS IV is prevalent, while they run across the country where they have no choice but to use the relatively inferior BS III fuel, Choudhury said that is a considerable factor and is being worked upon.

Crude oil stands as the largest imports for India. It is imported to the tune of nearly Rs 700,000 crore every financial year. In other words, roughly 80 percent of domestic crude oil demand is met through imports. While government experts and the industry project increased production of crude oil in India, they agree that the country will continue to depend heavily on oil imports for quite some years to come.

AMIT PANDAY