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Informist, Tuesday, Sep 10, 2024

 

--Road secy: Govt currently working on Bharat Stage VII emission norms
--Road secy: Auto sector must work on stability system for 2-wheelers

 

NEW DELHI – The government has begun working on Bharat Stage VII emission norms and will extensively consult the industry before implementing them, Anurag Jain, secretary for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said today. He was speaking at the 64th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

 

"We jumped from Bharat Stage IV to Bharat Stage VI. That was a huge leap. It is very commendable for the industry to come up with that kind of solution. We have already started working on Bharat State VII (emission norms)," Jain said. "We are conscious of the fact that to drive the growth in the country, this is essential."

 

The government introduced Bharat Stage emission norms in 2000 to regulate the amount of air pollutants emitted by vehicles. In 2020, it introduced the first phase of Bharat Stage VI and introduced phase two in 2023.

 

Among things deemed to help the automobile industry, the policy on scrapping vehicles is a major one, the secretary said. "Scrapping policy is the most important on manufacturing side. India came up with a scrapping policy. We are encouraging all the states to come up (with their own scrapping policies too)," he said.

However, in view of the concerns voiced by people over the new vehicle scrappage policy, the secretary said the ministry can undertake a study on whether it can link the vehicle scrapping mandate to the pollution levels of vehicles instead of their age. "When you (government) comes up with a policy that scrapping is mandatory after 15 years, people come back to us with a question. If I have maintained our vehicle well, why should we scrap it?" he said.

Jain said a study should be conducted about whether there can be a way to enforce a scrapping mandate where the upper limit is relative to the pollution of the vehicle, for example, before BS-I or before BS-II, instead of the 15-year mandate.

He said the automobile industry's focus on scrapping vehicles will be beneficial to the sector. The domestic auto industry offers 1.5-3.0% or higher incentive for scrapping vehicles to promote fleet modernisation and support the circular economy by encouraging junking of end-of-life vehicles.

 

The government's Vehicle Scrappage Policy 2021, also known as the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP), is a scheme for removing old and unfit vehicles. Cars older than 20 years and commercial vehicles older than 15 years are no longer eligible for re-registration and have to be scrapped.

 

Speaking about the prevalent warning systems in vehicles, Jain said that cars in the country now have some measure of warning system, but two-wheelers, which contribute to 45% of all road accident fatalities, still do not have any. "Auto sector must work on stability system for two-wheelers," he said, adding that the industry must deliberate on ideas to make two-wheelers safer.  End

 

Reported by Pallavi Singhal
Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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