Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan formally launched BS-IV grade transportation fuels across the country from Bhubaneswar today. The event coincided with Utkal Divas (formation day of the State) being celebrated in Odisha.To mark the historic occasion of the launch of BS-IV fuels across the country, the Hon’ble Minister symbolically commenced sale of the eco-friendly and low-emission fuels from 12 different locations across the country through live video links - Varanasi, Vijayawada, Durgapur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Bhopal, Ranchi, Madurai, Nagpur, Patna, Guwahati and Shillong.At the event, the Petroleum Minister also handed over a deposit-free domestic LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) scheme to Swalia Bibi of Shikharchan Basti in Bhubaneswar to mark the completion of release of 2 crore LPG connections to women beneficiaries from below poverty line (BPL) households across the country under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY).The Minister reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to holistic vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. He said that with the launch of the BS IV Fuel , a new era of clean transportation fuels has begun. This era will benefit all citizens of our country by substantially reducing pollution levels everywhere.
Shri Pradhan said that from today India will have “Only BS-IV” fuels. He complimented the OMCs for working in unison to set up refining infrastructure and logistics in record time for the launch of BS-IV grade fuels across the country as per schedule. The OMCs are incurring an expenditure of Rs. 90,000 crore on phase-wise upgradation of fuel quality in the country.Shri Pradhan said that even though India is not a major polluting country, we shall stand by Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment at COP-21 in Paris that India will substantially reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years. Migration to BS-IV fuels shows India’s resolve to cut down emissions. The next step is to usher in BS-VI fuels by 1st April, 2020, to be at par with global standards, he said.Speaking about the new milestone crossed by the PMUY scheme, Shri Pradhan said that the Government is fully committed to providing sustainable, clean and affordable energy as an essential input for economic development of India, which has emerged as the fastest going economy in the world. He said that the resounding success of initiatives like PaHaL, GiveItUp and the ongoing PMUY scheme are ample proof of the effectiveness of these socio-economic welfare schemes, which go a long way in ensuring energy inclusion of the poor. Shri Pradhan expressed his happiness that the journey of PMUY started by the Hon’ble Prime Minister to transform the lives of BPL women across the country has crossed the 2 crore mark at Bhubaneswar today. He said in Odisha alone, PMUY has benefited 10 lakh BPL households and freed them from smoke-related hazards.The Petroleum Ministry is vigorously pursuing various other forms of energy such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) for industries and transport sector, compressed natural gas (CNG) and AutoLPG for automobiles, and piped natural gas (PNG) for households, besides ethanol and bio-mass to expand the existing energy basket, he added.