Industry leaders, bureaucrats discuss need for cleaner diesel at SIAM conference

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufactuers (SIAM) held its fourth conference on diesel as a fuel called 'Diesel for Tomorrow' in Mumbai on November 28. The event was addressed by senior industry representatives and bureaucrats including Praful Patel, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

2013 Renault in India diesel engine

The conference recognised the importance of diesel, not just to the auto industry but to the whole of the Indian economy. A common point of discussion was the acknowledgement that we have to move towards cleaner fuel and more efficient engines to support the booming demand and sale of diesel powered automobiles. It was generally accepted that there is a dire need for cleaner fuel as newer gen BS4 and BS5 stage engines will require low sulphur content in diesel. It is estimated that by 2015-2017 we will have access to fuel with 50ppm (parts per million) content of sulphur and hopefully by 2018 -2020 10ppm sulphur content fuel will be a reality. Only once this happens can we truly move to cleaner diesel engines that comply with stringent norms like Euro5 and Euro6.

The conference saw addresses from Ambuj Sharma, additional secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industry;  R K Singh, joint secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Anant J Talaulicar, SIAM Diesel Group Chairman and Cummins India CMD; Mahesh Kodumudi, President & MD Volkswagen India; Saumitra Chaudhuri, member of Planning Commission; Dr RK Malhotra, director, IOCL; S R Marathe, director, Automotive Research Association of India; Vishnu Mathur, director general, SIAM; Dr Tim Leverton, head (advanced and Product Engineering), Tata Motors; and Paul Sowerby, chief technical officer, Cummins India.

SIAM also used the event to launch a booklet titled 'Diesel goes green'. Speaking at the event, Union minister Praful Patel said, "Diesel has become synonymous with the dynamic nature of our economy. It has been acting as a catalyst of industrial, as well as agricultural development in the country. Globally, diesel has undergone much refinement, and advancement in diesel engine technology and improvement in the quality of diesel fuel are consistent with the policy of climate change, energy and environment and can meet the specified norms positively, addressing the issue of global warming."