The VW controversy, however bad, has led to a few good things. One of the biggest positive fallouts has been the fact that many countries have revisited their emission norms. India too has started to do a rethink. The call, surprisingly, has come from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, not greens or the government.
But if you look at the circumstances by which automobile manufacturers are forced to operate, then the issue gets a bit clearer. Currently, India has two sets of emission norms, one for the big cities and another for the smaller ones. The Bharat Stage IV norms (the equivalent of Euro IV norms) are applicable in the bigger cities while the smaller cities and villages follow Bharat Stage III norms. The biggest reason for this is the difference in fuel quality.
This is where the problem lies. If India can manage to maintain the same fuel quality across the country, then not only will emission norms be standard but with a better fuel quality the country’s air will be cleaner, as will the government’s conscience. The World Health Organisation study of 1600 cities across the world found that 13 of the world’s 20 dirtiest cities were in India. New Delhi being the worst of the lot. The plan to standardise emission norms in all cities by 2017 couldn’t have come at a better time.
