The petroleum ministry has announced that Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) fuel will be available in Delhi from 1st April 2018.
- The petroleum ministry is examining the possibility to introduce BS-VI fuel across the national capital region by 1 April 2019.
- The decision is taken to improve the quality of air and tackle smog in the region.
- The ministry has decided to launch BS-VI fuels in Delhi two years ahead of the court imposed 2020 deadline.
Background
- Delhi’s air quality reached fatal levels last week which prompted the state government to contemplate enforcing an odd-even scheme.
- A 2016 report by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, showed that cars and jeeps emit less than 10% of particulate matter, while trucks are the bigger culprits. A big contributor to Delhi’s air pollution is road dust, which accounts for about 35% of tiny particles known as PM 2.5 in the air, followed by vehicles at 25%. Other contributors are domestic cooking, power plants and industries.
- In January last year, National Democratic Alliance decided to move the country up to BS-VI from the current BS-IV standards by 2020
