The entire country will be supplied by BS-IV auto fuels by April 1, 2017. The Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply giving out details in a phased manner. The first phase was completed in April 2015 and it covered the whole of north India including – Jammu and Kashmir (except Leh/Kargil), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and certain areas of western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The second phase of introducing the BS-IV auto fuels was concluded in April 2016. This covered Southern Indian states of Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, and Kerala along with a few parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The second phase also covered the Union territories of Daman & Diu, Dadra-Nagar-Haveli and Andaman & Nicobar. Moreover, the corridor spanning the highway link through Gujarat and Rajasthan linking the Northern India to the ports on the West Coast were also covered. The rest of the country will be receiving the BS-IV quality fuel by April 2017.
Based on a ministry order dated May 22, 2015 it conveyed the readiness of all Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and other stakeholders to switch from BS-IV to BS-VI quality fuel with effect from April 2020. For this purpose, the OMCs have been upgrading their refineries with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore for 100 per cent BS-IV fuel quality to be delivered by April 2017. Moreover, an additional investment of Rs 30,000 crore has been estimated for BS-VI fuel quality upgradation.
