Bharat Stage III auto fuel for four wheelers in the country from October

BS-III fuel to be mandatory from Oct

The government has decided to introduce Bharat Stage III auto fuel for
four wheelers in the country from October this year against the wishes
of the petroleum ministry. The original deadline for the introduction
of the fuel was April 1, 2010 but the public sector refiners could not
manage to meet the deadline.

Seeking to buy some time for the refiners, the petroleum ministry came
out with a new schedule, saying that the Euro III-compliant fuel can
be brought to some cities by June and for others by October 2010.
However, automobile manufacturers opposed such plans and demanded one
date for the introduction.

The automakers' contention was that a staggered schedule would be a
problem in launching of new vehicles with improved engines. "Society
of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which had represented the
case with road transport minister Kamal Nath, said it will be
difficult to supply improved engines in cities in a staggered manner.
It wanted a standard schedule and the same has been decided by
Cabinet," a senior official in road transport and highways ministry
told FE. The Cabinet decision was taken on April 23. The auto
companies got support from road transport and highways ministry, which
is the implementing body for fuel standards in motor vehicles. The
ministry issued a draft amendment in Central Motor Vehicles Rules,
1989 in March this year. In the draft, it exempted vehicles
manufactured between April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010 from
following the fuel standard norms under BS III.

As per the Auto Fuel Policy, approved by Cabinet on October 3, 2003,
the government was required to introduce the BS III fuel in the
country from April 1, 2010. On the same day, a cleaner BS IV-compliant
fuel was to be unveiled in 11 cities, including four
metropolises-Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

The petroleum ministry has been successful in introducing the BS IV
fuel in 13 cities across the country on April 1.
Financial Express, New Delhi, April 26, 2010