Rs 35,000 Crore Needed To Upgrade Auto Fuel Quality

An investment of Rs 35,000 crore is needed to upgrade auto fuel quality in the country to achieve Euro-III equivalent norms.

This has been worked out by an inter-ministerial task force set up by the government to prepare a long-term policy and road map on vehicular emission standards and auto fuel quality.

The task force has said that Rs 10,000 crore has already been invested for meeting Bharat Stage I fuel quality. An investment of Rs 17,000 crore is needed to upgrade the fuel quality equivalent to Bharat Stage II.

An additional investment of Rs 18,000 crore is needed to achieve Euro-III equivalent norms. This implies that an additional investment of Rs 35,000 crore is needed to bring auto fuel quality up to Euro-III standards.

In its final report submitted to the ministry for petroleum and natural gas, the task force has said that besides the high investment, the production cost of improved quality of auto fuels is substantial because of higher requirements of energy, fuel, hydrogen and higher generation of low-priced by-products.

It has said that taking a jump from Bharat Stage-I norms to Euro-III equivalent norms in the entire country may not be