Latest news with #fuelban
Khaleej Times
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Khaleej Times
India: New Delhi says fuel ban on old vehicles not feasible
Two days after India's capital stopped fuel sales to ageing vehicles to tackle the sprawling megacity's hazardous air pollution, authorities on Thursday said the ban was not practical. New Delhi is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted capitals globally with vehicular emissions being one of the worst offenders, according to several studies. At the peak of the smog, levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- dangerous cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- surge to more than 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum. The fuel restriction was introduced on Tuesday to reinforce an already-existing but widely disregarded ban on petrol cars older than 15 years, and diesel vehicles older than 10. But Delhi's environment minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, told reporters the fuel ban was not feasible because of "crucial issues related to technological glitches". Number plate-recognising cameras and loudspeakers installed at fuelling stations were "malfunctioning", Sirsa said, leading to "fights and arguments". The ban had resulted in public "discontent", he added. Sirsa said he had written to the area's pollution control authority, explaining the problems in implementing the ban. "Unless there is a robust system and the ban is everywhere, it will not work," he added. The ban was to be extended to satellite cities around the capital, an area home to more than 32 million people, from November. A study in The Lancet medical journal attributed 1.67 million premature deaths in India to air pollution in 2019. Each winter, vehicle and factory emissions coupled with farm fires from surrounding states wrap the city in a dystopian haze. Cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds worsen the situation by trapping deadly pollutants. Piecemeal government initiatives, such as partial restrictions on fossil fuel-powered transport and water trucks spraying mist to clear particulate matter from the air, have failed to make a noticeable impact.
Khaleej Times
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Khaleej Times
India: Fuel ban on old vehicles in Delhi to boost automakers, govt revenue
New Delhi's fuel ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years from July 1, 2025, is likely to deliver Rs4.5 trillion of gain to auto companies, auto importers, and government tax collections, according to a recent report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). "If 1.8 million old vehicles are replaced by new cars with an average price of Rs1.5 million each, the total turnover for the auto industry would amount to Rs2.7 trillion," GTRI said. The report further adds that, with this replacement of old vehicles with the new ones, the central government will be able to collect approximately Rs13.5 trillion from GST and compensation cess, while the Delhi government would gain around Rs4.2187 trillion from road tax and diesel surcharges. GTRI also outlines that, "Real values will be at least 50 per cent higher as this data ignores the revenue to be collected on account of the replacement of 4.4 million two-wheelers." Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. On the flip side, this rule of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years will no longer be allowed to refuel at any petrol pump across the capital, will impose harsh costs on small businesses, informal sector workers, and middle-class families who still rely on older vehicles for mobility and livelihoods. Under this rule, Automated number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at fuel stations will enforce the rule by linking to the VAHAN database. Overall, this ban will affect an estimated 1.8 million four-wheelers and 4.4 million two-wheelers in the National Capital Region (NCR), which extends beyond Delhi into key urban centres like Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad. The GTRI report suggests that India should modernise its vehicle fleet without crushing the poor. It must adopt the best practices of Europe and the U.S. -- build rigorous, transparent emission-testing systems and phase in green zones rather than impose a blanket age cut-off. In most major countries, there is generally no outright ban on older vehicles based purely on age. Instead, governments use a mix of stricter emissions standards, roadworthiness checks, and economic disincentives to phase out old, high-polluting vehicles.
