Delhi-NCT Shifts To Cleaner BS6 Petrol, Diesel Today

In November 2017, the Indian government had advanced the introduction of BSVI fuels in the capital city by two years to April 2018 

Finally, the day has come - starting today, vehicles in Delhi will be fuelled by cleaner, BSVI grade petrol and diesel. This is in compliance with the announcement made by the central Government that required oil marketing companies to deliver BSVI grade fuel in the capital city (only) starting from April 1, 2018, instead of the April 2020 deadline set earlier.

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In January 2016, the central Government decided to implement stricter BSVI norms from April 1, 2020, instead of April 2021. BSV norms, initially planned to roll out from April 2019, were skipped entirely.

The preponement of the BSVI fuel deadline (from April 2020 to April 2018 in Delhi) was done to curb the alarming levels of air pollution in the capital city as BSVI fuels are way more cleaner than BSIV fuels. To put things in perspective, BSVI grade fuel contains 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur, which is five times lesser than the current BSIV standard. Lesser sulphur in the mix, directly translates to reduced sulphur-based emissions. However, with cars still running on BSIV engines, BSVI fuel won’t be as beneficial as it would be with BSVI-compliant engines. Reports suggest, BSIV cars running on BSVI fuels will be 2-3 per cent more fuel efficient while emitting lesser harmful gases than before. 

To know more about the effects of BSVI fuels, click here

After the 2020 deadline for BSVI fuel and BSVI-compliant cars was finalised by the Government, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had, in February 2018, told the Supreme Court that it won’t be possible for it to manufacture BSVI-compliant vehicles before 2020. However, Mercedes-Benz has already launched BSVI-compliant cars, the S 350 d and the Maybach S 650, in India and has confirmed that its entire range will be BSVI-compliant by the end of 2019. 

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Post the official commencement of BSVI fuel supply in Delhi-NCT (National Capital Territory, union territory jointly administered by the central government and the Delhi state government), the Government also plans to extend BSVI fuel supply to NCR (National Capital Region) by April 2019. Fuel retailers have already been asked by MPNG (Ministry Of Petroleum and Natural Gas) to examine the possibility of BSVI fuels in the entire NCR, which includes cities surrounding Delhi such as Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, from April 1, 2019, a year ahead of the deadline set for rest of India. Recently, the Supreme Court of India also proposed the rolling out of BSVI fuel across 13 metros starting from April 1 next year. It has also asked the central Government to reply within two weeks after consulting oil marketing companies.

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