Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said that the Bharat Stage (BS) VI fuel will be made available in the country from April 1 next year.
"The BS-VI fuel will be made available from April 1 in the country. The BS-VI compliant vehicles will also be made available from next year. This initiative will reduce pollution in the air by 80-90 per cent," Javadekar said while speaking to media.
Javadekar was in Jaipur to participate in a tree plantation event at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) here on the occasion of Vijayadashami.
The minister further informed that in a bid to reduce pollution under the National Clean Air Campaign, the government had chalked out plans for about 122 cities.
"The funds have also been issued by the Central government. Government has also been monitoring compes that are contributing immensely to pollution levels in the country," he said.
The Supreme Court on October 24, last year, had ruled that no BS-IV vehicle will be sold across the country with effect from April 1, 2020. Instead, the BS-VI emission norm will come into force across the country.
The major difference between the existing BS-IV and forthcoming BS-VI norm is the presence of sulphur in the fuel. These emission standards were set by the government to keep a check on the pollutant levels emitted by vehicles that use combustion engines.
( With inputs from ANI )