'Upgrade oil refineries to provide clean fuel'

INTERVIEW

The Volkswagen emission controversy has generated interest in India and the point of debate has centred on the current standards of auto emission. Touching upon various issues concerning the controversy, Vishnu Mathur, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), spoke to Annapurna Singh of Deccan Herald. Excerpts:
 
After the Volkswagen controversy, concerns have emerged on emission by diesel cars in India.

As per media reports, Volkswagen case is confined to the United States and some other countries. As yet, we do not have any knowledge of emission norms violation by the company in India.

What about the general emission norms vis-à-vis diesel cars in India?

Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms were introduced in India after 2000 based on the European emission norms. In the 10 years from 2000, India leapfrogged to BS IV emission norms, which is the fastest progression on emission norms by any country. However, the introduction of BS IV was limited to 13 major cities while the rest of the country stayed at BS III. Both petrol as well as diesel vehicles have to meet these norms which are equivalent to Euro IV and Euro III. Over the last five years, more cities have been brought under BS-IV norms. However, pan-India implementation is still sometime away.

What is the reason for India being so slow in moving forward on emission norms?

The vehicular emission norms have to follow the availability of compliant fuel. The reason why we do not have BS-IV on a pan-India basis is due to the lack of supply in other parts of the country. In order to supply BS-IV or BS-V fuel across the country, the oil refineries need to be upgraded. For a long time, fuels like petrol, diesel etc., have been subsidised by the government which has impacted the ability of the petroleum sector to make investments.

But what about the rest of the cities and what after 2010?

Dual emission norms throw up a number of challenges for the industry and for the consumers. First, the industry has to manufacture two types of vehicles, BS-III and BS-IV. Second, marketing has to be done selectively. One cannot sell a BS-III vehicle in a BS-IV zone and vice versa.

Siam is not complaining to the government?

Siam has been constantly impressing upon the government the need to have one single fuel and emission norm for the country and to extend BS-IV on a pan-India basis as soon as possible. In 2012, the government set up another committee under former Planning Commission Member Saumitra Chaudhury. It presented its report a few weeks before the new BJP-led government took charge and gave a road map for auto fuel quality and emission norms till 2024. It suggested bringing BS-IV fuel in entire north India by 2015, for south India by 2016 and for the rest of the country by 2017. The committee also proposed advancing to BS-V in 2020 and BS-VI in 2024.


What is the position now?

The government has agreed with all the recommendations of the committee as far as BS-IV is concerned. The necessary notifications announcing the timelines for BS-IV has already been issued. However, its recommendations with regard to BS-V and BS-VI are still being debated. Sometime ago, the government requested the industry to consider compressing the timelines for introducing BS-V and BS-VI. Siam took the lead and in consultation with the industry has proposed an advanced timeline of 2019 for BS-V and 2023 for BS-VI.

What is stopping the government from investing in refineries for clean fuel?

This is best answered by the government and the oil companies. We know it involves huge investments in refinery upgradation. Moreover, in the past few years, we have seen debates on whether BS-IV fuel is actually required in the non-urban centres where the pollution problem may not be serious today. However, these debates have only made us lose time and fall behind other developed countries in bringing in higher emission norms on a pan-India basis.

What about electric vehicles? Will we not have any emission norm problems with them?
All over the world, electric and hybrid vehicles are considered to be the next big development in terms of sustainable and green mobility. However, EV technology is still under evolution and is currently very expensive.

Do the high number of old cars lead to regular violation of norms?

Old cars on the road does not mean that there is a violation of the norms. Emission norms are only applicable to new vehicles. However, the point you are raising is an important one. Old vehicles on the road, especially those belonging to the pre-BS days are still operating in the country. Even if these vehicles are well maintained, they will be emitting more than the current breed of BS-IV vehicles.

Siam has been seeking for a Fleet Modernisation Policy under which users of old vehicles could be given a one-time subsidy for scrapping their old vehicles and for purchasing new ones. This will help in one-time cleansing of the old vehicles. Many countries have followed the “Cash-for-Clunkers” type of schemes.

What is system of emission check in India?

The Indian system is based on the European System, which works on the basis of a third party inspection by government-accredited test centres. These agencies test and certify vehicles compliance to the Indian emission norms.

Has India witnessed any Volkswagen like case in the past?

This is the first time we have heard about anything called a cheat device. I would like to repeat – this is still not relevant in the Indian context. So far it is only affecting the US and some other countries.