No clear deadline for India's fuel efficiency norm

The government has not fixed any deadline for introducing fuel efficiency norms for vehicles, Mahadeo Singh Khandela, minister of state in the roads ministry said, contradicting his colleague Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s earlier statement that the standards will take effect in December 2011. Setting fuel efficiency standards for motor vehicles is among a series of steps being taken by India’s union government, against a backdrop of rising concern over climate change. India, which has declined to accept any legally binding target to reduce emission levels, has committed to take voluntary steps that will help it bring down its emissions intensity by 20-25% between 2005 and 2020. (December 15, 2009)