Petrol with less than 1% benzene from IOC
Indian Oil Corporation 's (IOC) largest refinery -- Gujarat Refinery-- has emerged as the first one to produce lead free petrol with less than one per cent of benzene content. The petroleum ministry has instructed all the oil companies to bring down the benzene content in petrol to three per …
Automakers promise green vehicles from April 1, 2000
Representatives of the automobile industry yesterday met environment & forests minister Suresh Prabhu and reiterated the commitment that from April 1, 2000, all new vehicles manufactured would meet the stipulated emission norms. Responding to the presentation, the minister assured the delegation that the government would take a holistic view and …
Mathura Refinery diesel to have less sulphur
The Rs 307-crore diesel hydrodesulphurisation (DHDS) unit in Mathura Refinery will soon start manufacturing diesel with lesser content of sulphur, a DHDS release said. The refinery started the supply of unleaded petrol to Delhi in March 1995 and three years later a continuous catalytic reforming unit (CCRU) was installed.
Failure of CNG buses compels DTC to opt for improvised ones
The failure of the existing model of compressed natural gas buses have forced the Delhi transport department to order to improvised model bus from Telco. The existing front engine buses, which are plying on an experimental basis, suffer from overheating in the driver's cabin and are likely to be replaced …
Daewoo will launch CNG Cielo in Oct, Nexia in line
Daewoo Motors Ltd is all set to introduce its mid-size sedan Cielo in a CNG-driven avatar in October. This would be followed with its luxury car Nexia in a similar CNG option, company sources said. Both the cars would come in a bifuel option, running on both petrol and CNG.
Tata Indica becomes Euro II compliant
Telco today announced that Indica has achieved Euro II compliance, before the deadline set by the Supreme Court on April 1, 2000. Indica has received the certification for Euro II compliance from Europe based independent authorities -- Motor Industries Association, the UK, Instituto Nacional de Tecnica, Spain, Union Tecnique de …
Centre may toe Kerala over allowing LPG as auto fuel
It is normally the Centre that calls the shots on enacting or amending laws. For a change, Kerala has led the Centre to consider giving up its zest for issuing an Ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) to pave the way for the use of liquefied petroleum gas …
Ban on diesel-run cars sought
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has stressed that the Government should either bring diesel prices at par with petrol prices or ban the manufacture of diesel-run cars. The reason, according to CSE, is that diesel is a highly polluting fuel. CSE director Anil Agarwal said automobile industry is …
Watch out New Delhi
SPM is choking you : A Geneva-based WHO scientist, Dietrich Schwela, Department for Protection of Human Environment, says that there is increasing scientific and medical evidence that exposure to fine particulate matter could have more significant health implications. In cities in China and India, the observed pattern of increasing pollution …
BPC to supply lead-free fuel from next month
Sending a message that the new fuel will be eco-friendly, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has decided to supply lead-free petrol and octane to the open market from next month.
Karnataka autos to run on LPG
Alarmed over the rising pollution levels, the Karnataka government has ordered that all three-wheelers vehicles be fitted with liquified petroleum gas by December 31 this year. The government order followed a high court ruling which had directed three-wheelers in the state to run on LPG by July 21.
Vehicles with black smoke to be seized
In what officials say is next step in their "fight against black smoke", the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) is planning to "impound" all the black-smoke-belching vehicles plying the streets of the capital of Nepal, secretary at MOPE Dr Govinda Prasad Bhatta said.
Italy joins 'car-free' day
More than 150 cities and towns in France and Italy will take part in a "car-free" day on Sep. 22 in which urban centers will be closed to all vehicles except public transport, the environment ministers of those countries said.
Phase-out of polluting vehicles on the anvil
A top transport official vowed to phase-out all the polluting vehicles from the Kathmandu Valley by mid-July 2000 while he promised to strictly implement Nepal government's earlier announcement that plans to ban Vikram tempos from a number of cities including the capital city by mid-September. This was stated by Baid …
What on earth will be micro-bus look like?
Contrary to popular expectations, "micro-buses" may not replace the three-wheel Vikram tempos any time soon. The Nepal government has set the Sep 17 deadline to Vikram operators to phase out their tempos from the Kathmandu Valley, offering them a 90 percent customs duty exemption on imports of micro-buses. But Vikram …
Honda unveils fuel-efficient products
Honda Motor Co. unveiled a series of products aimed at making vehicles more fuel efficient and said it will begin selling a new hybrid car in Japan from November. Honda said the the Insight would be world's most fuel-efficient car, with an engine that can run 35 kilometers per liter …
EPA asks govt. to reconsider lifting ban on diesel-run taxis
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPA) has asked the Delhi government to reconsider its decision to lift the ban on the registration of new diesel-run taxis in the capital. The ban had also covered several other categories of commercial vehicles.
Benzene Menace
The use of unleaded petrol may have caused the atmospheric lead levels in Delhi to drop by as much as 61 per cent, but this petrol brings with it an added threat: cancer. The unleaded petrol being used in the Capital is high on the carcinogen benzene, which is added …
Cancer study revels link with traffic fumes
Traffic pollution has been directly linked to lung cancer for the first time in a landmark study that will increase pressure to reduce the number of cars. Researchers in Sweden studying the effect of exhaust fumes on 3,500 men in Stockholm found that those living in areas with the heaviest …
Oil cos race to supply clean diesel
Major refineries in the country are going all out to meet a September 1 deadline to bring down sulphur content in diesel (perhaps the most visibly polluting of all fuels ) to 0.25 per cent, from an average of 1 per cent now. High sulphur content in the air causes …
