There is no doubt that India is facing a huge environmental crisis. Whether it is air pollution or deforestation, there are many problems that must be dealt with. It seems that the government has taken up the issue and is all set to implement new green norms or environmental laws that will create a few restraints on companies and also tax higher for the power industry. It is estimated that these new norms will in turn affect the auto industry as costs will rise, which in turn suggests that in the near future it will be more expensive for consumers to own and operate a vehicle. Consumers will have to shell out more for power, fuel and cars in a few years as these industries begin to pass on the burden of technology upgrades being put in place for meeting increasingly stringent environmental and emission norms. A good example of this is that the new norms for coal fire powered station will raise the price of electricity. Motor fuels prices will also raise hence making it more expensive to fuel up your vehicle.
The new norms cover the range of emissions from power station including particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, as well as limiting water usage. Also, the Auto Fuel Vision & Policy 2025 in June 2014 had recommended a 75 paise cess to recoup Rs 64,000 crore of the Rs 80,000 crore investment projected for producing cleaner fuels. Fuels need to be made cleaner and the shift from BS-III fuels to BS-IV and higher fuels needs to be implemented, and the technology to refine these fuels is also quite high, not to mention the investment need for the facilities and new refineries. The industry will no doubt be under a heavy burden to move to cleaner means of manufacturing and using alternate and cleaner fuels, but with the added cost, hopefully India can find a solution to be environmentally responsible.
