The Indian automobile industry is on its way towards a cleaner and more energy-efficient future, so what if it is being driven by the government to do so. With the stringent Bharat Stage IV emission norms expected to kick in by the first half of 2010, the ministry of power has now decided to accord energy (read fuel) efficiency ratings to all automobiles manufactured in India. This step, on the one hand, promises to push auto companies to come up with more fuel-efficient vehicles, while on the other hand, aiming to empower customers to make an informed choice. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (bee), under the ministry of power, has already constituted a technical committee (in October last year) on the matter that has on board various stakeholders of the automobile industry, ranging from automobile manufacturers to members from various ministries and siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers). "As against Bharat Stage II and III, which are emission norms, we decided to do a reality check on the fuel efficiencies of various vehicles and see whether there was a scope for improvement in this area (of fuel efficiency). The ministry, therefore, gave a go-ahead to bee to come up with certain standards and labelling on this," says Devender Singh, joint secretary, ministry of power. While the fuel efficiency of various cars on the roads is common knowledge, the flow of information is from the manufacturers themselves, bee will, therefore, come up with its own mechanism of calculating the fuel efficiency, therefore providing neutral and "authentic information to consumers on fuel consumption." bee presently gives energy ratings to several appliances (such as refrigerators, air-conditioners, ceiling fans, lpg stoves, etal) "whose energy costs form a large part of their lifecycle." In due course, the bureau plans to rate all vehicles - cars, heavy vehicles and two-wheelers - on the fuel efficiency parameter. The move gains significance as there has been a steady rise in domestic automobile sales over the years. As per data from siam, the number of vehicles has increased from 7.90 million vehicles in 2004-05 to 8.91 million vehicles in 2005-06 and 10.11 million in 2006-07. "The Indian transport sector is growing the fastest in terms of energy use," says Ajay Mathur, director general, bee. "Obviously, as vehicle ownership in India is low, there is bound to be further growth in this sector but the committee's endeavour is to ensure that the growth in fuel consumption is slower than the growth in the number of vehicles." "If you look at vehicles, their cost of running is much more, compared to the initial cost," explains Mathur. "Therefore, it is important that the consumer knows the approximate amount of money he will end up paying for the running cost. In addition, he should have the confidence that this information has been calculated on various standards in labs that are accredited," he adds. While one expected this step to ruffle feathers of auto companies, siam, the apex auto industry body representing 38 leading vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India, says the industry is fine with it. "This (energy efficiency rating) is not something new happening. This is a global practice, and the automotive industry in the country has already been doing this on a voluntary basis. It is only now that the government has made it mandatory. Our only suggestion is that, instead of several agencies working on the issue (some on C02 emissions while others on fuel efficiency), there should be only one agency co-ordinating this," opines Dilip Chehoy, director general, siam bee too believes that there is hardly any matter of concern for the manufacturers. "At the end of the day, it will be in the interest of everyone. When someone goes to buy a car, there are several aspects that he takes into consideration, before making a purchase decision - such as the manufacturer's name and reputation in the market, the design of the car, etc. Besides, it will spur manufacturers to come up with more fuel-efficient technologies," he says. However, it will take some time before the ratings are finalised. According to the procedure, after bee is through with its review, the matter will go to the ministry for power, which will, after vetting it with the legal eagles, finally notify the fuel efficiency norms. "We have just started, and there is still a long way to go," says Mathur. "I remember, it took two years to get the clearance for refrigerators. I believe it will take about two years for anything concrete to come up," he adds