Fuel-efficiency norms for cars by 2011
According to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, government is in the final stage of notifying fuel efficiency standards for the Indian automotive sector, which will be enforced from 2011.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day 4th Environment Friendly Vehicles conference in New Delhi on Sunday, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said, “We are right now engaged in finalising administrative formalities on how these standards have to be notified, either through the Energy Conservation Act or the Motor Vehicles Act.”
At present the transport sector contributes about 15 to 20 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in India and is the third highest source of greenhouse gases, after the power and agriculture sector.
According to the government, this figure will rise to around 25% by year 2030. The auto industry has already come on board for voluntary certification and in two years it will be mandatory for automobile manufacturers to sell vehicles with energy-efficiency tags, and the information on the labels will have to be certified by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
“The labeling of vehicles will not be based on one standard but different standards for different categories of automobiles such as small cars and commercial vehicles. Also, instead of California route which mandates curtail on emissions, we will follow a conventional route of legislating the KMP (kilometer per hour) figure,” Jairam Ramesh said.
