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Policy summary: India’s vehicle emissions control program

In January 2013, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) created an expert committee on “Auto Fuel Vision and Policy—2025”, charged with establishing a roadmap for fuel quality and vehicle emission standards through 2025. The committee can also make recommendations regarding emission control measures from in-use vehicles, fiscal measures for upgrading of oil refineries, and alternative fuels. The present committee is the successor to a body that in 2002 set forth a similar policy roadmap up to 2010. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has just completed a comprehensive assessment of the past, present, and potential future direction of vehicle emission control measures in India, setting Indian policy options in the context of international experience and consensus best practice. That study offers a firm foundation for the expert committee’s efforts to identify and recommend actions that will minimize air pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles. This document summarizes the key aspects of the ICCT study.