The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the draft norms on fuel efficiency for heavy duty vehicles will be released on 1st April. The Minister made the announcement during his address at the Saksham 2017, month long awareness drive on fuel conservation, at Siri Fort Auditorium. He said that the BS IV fuel will be available across the country from April and that the Ministry is already planning and working on bringing in BS VI fuel by 2020.
Speaking at the event, Pradhan urged everyone to follow fuel conservation steps and contribute to saving of energy and fuel wherever they can. He added there are more than 15 crore two wheelers and more than 3 crore three wheelers currently on the roads in India. By turning off vehicle engine at red light stops of traffic signal, about 2 per cent of fuel can be saved which translates to Rs 14000 crore of saving for the country. Drawing a parallel to the PMUY which has an allocation of Rs 8000 crore to distribute lPG cylinders to 5 crore BPl families across the country, Pradhan highlighted the importance of energy/fuel conservation for saving costs that could be used for other developmental projects. He informed that over 1.60 crore lPG connections have been given under PMUY since its launch in May 2016.
The minister inaugurated the month long awareness drive on fuel conservation called Saksham 2017 (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav), organised by PCRA and other Oil and Gas PSUs. Saksham 2017 is aimed to create awareness amongst masses towards judicious utilisation and conservation of petroleum products along with use of energy efficient appliances and switching to cleaner fuels.