The Corona Virus outbreak in China has led to restrictions on movement of people and business activities in many provinces of China, in order to control the spread of virus. The closure of factories in China may affect Indian industries, which import components, intermediaries and raw materials from China like …
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry has demanded a complete ban on the import of second-hand cars and used tyres, in its report tabled in parliament. The panel feels that the country is being converted into a "dumping ground for second-hand cars, which is eating into the domestic (automobile) industry'. …
Oil and automobile giants love to hate California for its stringent norms. Now they have one more reason to do so. Lawmakers in this us state are promoting a bill that would eliminate several sports utility vehicles (suvs) from California's 73,000-strong state-owned fleet. The ban would extend only to purchases …
The European Commission (EC) has hauled eight member nations to court for failing to enforce a law which mandates that automobile manufacturers bear the costs of recycling used cars. The UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Finland and Luxembourg were sued by EC Commissioner Margot Wallstroem in the European Court …
• Maruti Udyog Limited is unable to keep pace with the demand for Zen-D, the diesel variant of one of its best-selling models. • There is a huge order backlog and a six-week waiting period for the Accent crd i, the diesel version of Hyundai Motors' mid-sized car. • The …
automobiles Toyota Motor Corp will spend us $34 million to finance the improvement of anti-pollution controls on old, publicly-owned buses in the us even though it did not manufacture them. The company has agreed to do this in order to settle a Clean Air Act lawsuit filed against it by …
the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (tnpcb) has issued a show-cause notice to Hyundai Motor (India) Limited (hmil) for alleged environmental violations at its car plant at Sriperumpudur near Chennai. The notice has been issued to the company for contravening the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and …
Electric Cars The government plans to develop electric vehicles at an investment of us $106 million for use in the 2008 Olympics. This move is primarily meant to fight pollution through car emissions. The Chinese government would fund domestic companies to develop vehicles that run on electricity or other power …
India, like most other Asian countries, seems to be blissfully ignorant of the environmental hazards posed by discarded cars. At present, the problem is obscure since the average lifetime of a vehicle in India is much higher than that in Europe. However, the situation may soon change. In September 2001, …
at least 27 million vehicles are junked every year. Ever wondered what happens to them? Studies show that they spawn an environmental disaster that governments are finding difficult to handle. The European Union (eu ) has taken the lead in reversing this trend. From April 21, 2002, with the implementation …
As we have often said before, the Indian automobile industry has come of age. But in terms of environmental management, even the giants prefer to remain greenhorns. This is reflected in the last auto fair that took place in the capital. Ostensibly, they talked about "going green'. Yet none of …
Unmasking the dragon Two and three wheeler population is exploding in Asia. The health implications are scary: they emit dangerous pollutants that have gone unnoticed till now ASIANS are riding high on dragons that they cannot get off. The dragons are small but far too many. Consider this: About 85 …
a leading English daily reported that 200 Delhi Transport Corporation (dtc) buses were plying on the capital's roads without catalytic converters. It stated that emissions from these vehicles, running on compressed natural gas (cng), were 90 per cent more than those from other such buses. Instead of a catalytic converter, …
since the release of the environmental rating of the automobile sector by the Centre for Science and Environment several people have told us that it must have taken some courage to rate the auto sector, which is headed by some of the most powerful industrial stalwarts like Rahul Bajaj and …
I n the past few decades, society has played a proactive role in purging the market of toxic products. This has been largely possible due to sustained information campaigns, highlighting the damage these noxious substances cause to the environment and health. Cases in point are public disclosure drives that have …
T H E T E A M STEERING GROUP To lend credibility to the entire rating process, a Project Advisory Panel (PAP) has been set up comprising politicians, scientists, eminent members of the civil society, lawyers and judges and industry leaders. It has been formed to advise, guide and steer …
All pulp and paper production plants with more than 100 tonnes per day (tpd) production capacity were shortlisted for the rating that was announced on July 18,1999. The sample comprised 28 production units of 23 companies spread across 13 states. Overall, the sector recorded a dismal performance with only two …
The Green Rating Project (grp) team knew from the beginning that a thorough rating process would require a set of parameters and methodology that would stand the test of time and the scrutiny of the industry as well as critics. There was no precedent to go by, therfore the team …
Choosing a set of parameters is an exercise in precision. The collected data when sieved through the parameters should consistently give similar results and be in consonance with evidence available on ground. Keeping this in mind, grp ensured that the rating criteria were as objective as possible. The robustness of …
The rating process asked the automobile companies to disclose information on the parameters voluntarily. But it also took help from a team of volunteers who were given the mandate to inspect the production plant and assess the companies for: • Transparency in disclosures • Housekeeping and safety • Environment management …
