Delhi will switch to BS-VI fuels in April, 2 years ahead of deadline
New Delhi   16-Nov-2017



Delhi will run on BS-VI (Bharat Stage-VI) grade petrol and diesel from April 1 next year, two years ahead of the 2020 deadline the Centre had set for rolling out cleaner fuels across the country. The oil ministry has asked state-run fuel retailers, who nearly monopolise the market, to also examine introducing BS-VI auto fuels in the NCR (National Capital Region) a year later, in April 2019. The measures are aimed at reducing pollution from vehicular emission, one of the elements being blamed for the foul air in Delhi and its surrounding areas. The cleaner fuels will come at a higher price.

However, auto experts said introducing BS-VI fuels only in Delhi would make marginal difference as these will be used by vehicles with BS-IV or BS-III engines plying on Delhi's roads. "BS-IV diesel has 50 ppm (parts per million) sulphur, while BS-VI will have 10 ppm. So, using BS-VI fuel in BS-IV engines will not hurt performance but will also not give you the full benefit," an engineer working with an auto company said.

The country currently runs on BS-IV grade fuels and was to switch to BS-VI grade from April 1, 2020, leapfrogging over BS-V. But oil and auto industry insiders said state-run oil firms were far from ready with their units to supply BS-VI fuels on a large scale and were likely to source products from private refiners, Reliance Industries and Essar, which have been making these fuels for export markets. Reliance has a barter system with staterun oil companies in the north, which can be expanded to feed BS-VI fuels to Delhi.

Sanjiv Singh, chairman of India's largest fuel maker and marketer IndianOil, however, expressed confidence of meeting the advanced BS-VI deadline for Delhi. "We will supply BS-VI products from our Mathura and Panipat refineries," he told TOI. Delhi consumes about 2.5 lakh kilo-litres of petrol and diesel per month.

IndianOil's Mathura refinery had sent specimens of BS-VI fuels to Honda Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra for testing in December last year. This lot was produced in the refinery without addition of any machinery. A new unit is being added at the refinery to make only BS-VI fuels.

Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers (SIAM) said the move was in line with international practices where the higher grade of fuel is generally introduced a couple of years before higher emission standards for vehicles kick in.

"Early introduction of BS-VI fuel gives confidence to the auto industry that these will be available across the country from April 1, 2020," a SIAM statement quoted its president Abhay Firodia as saying. It could be another story for automakers who may find it difficult to start supplying vehicles with BS-VI engines at such a short notice, should the government pressure them to do so.