India plans ban on diesel 4 wheeler vehicles

a

India should ban the use of diesel-powered four-wheeler vehicles by 2027 and switch to electric and gas-fuelled vehicles in cities with more than a million people and polluted towns in order to cut emissions, an oil ministry panel is recommending.

India, one of the biggest emitters of green house gases, wants to produce 40% of its electricity from renewables to achieve its 2070 net zero goal.

"By 2030, no city buses should be added which are not electric...diesel buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards," the panel said in a report posted on the oil ministry's website

It is not clear if the petroleum ministry will seek cabinet approval to implement the recommendations of its Energy Transition Advisory Committee, headed by former oil secretary Tarun Kapoor.

To boost electric vehicle use in the country, the report said the government should consider "targeted extension" of incentives given under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles scheme (FAME) to beyond March 31.

Diesel accounts for about two-fifths of refined fuel consumption in India with 80% of that being used in the transport sector.