India formally launches BS-IV fuel to make environmental statement
1 min read 01 Apr 2017, 09:29 PM ISTThe launch of BS-IV fuel comes days after the Supreme Court banned sale and registration of BS-III vehicles from 1 April
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Bhubaneswar: India on Saturday made a formal launch of Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) grade fuel across the country to keep carbon emission in check and set a target of ushering in BS-VI fuel by April 2020.
The launch came days after the Supreme Court banned sale and registration of BS-III vehicles from 1 April. Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan formally launched the BS-IV grade transportation fuel in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of Utkal Diwas, the state foundation day.
Pradhan symbolically commenced sale of the eco-friendly and low-emission fuel from 12 different locations across the country through live video links. The cities were Varanasi, Vijayawada, Durgapur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Bhopal, Ranchi, Madurai, Nagpur, Patna, Guwahati and Shillong.
“Today, we begin a new era of clean transportation fuel that will benefit 1.25 billion citizens of our country by substantially reducing pollution levels everywhere," Pradhan said while complimenting oil marketing companies for working in unison to set up refining infrastructure and logistics in a record time for BS-IV grade fuel.
The oil marketing companies (OMCs) are incurring an expenditure of Rs90,000 crore for phase-wise upgradation of the fuel quality. “Migration to BS-IV fuels shows India’s resolve to cut down emissions. The next step is to usher in BS-VI fuels by April 1, 2020, to be at par with global standards," the oil minister said. Though India is not a major polluting country, “we shall stand by the Prime Minister’s commitment at COP-21 in Paris that India will substantially reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions in coming years".
