Petrol bunks in the state will start supplying cleaner fuel from next month.

“As India, the third highest energy consuming country in the world, prepares to leapfrog from Bharat Stage (BS) IV to BS VI on April 1, Indian Oil Corporation is ready to supply BS VI grade fuel from all its existing 565 retail outlets in the state,” Vibhash Kumar, IOC excutive director and state head for Bihar and Jharkhand, said on Saturday.

The Centre instituted BS emission standards regulating air pollutants from combustion engines, including those of motor vehicles.

“The big difference between BS IV and BS VI grade fuel will be sulphur content,” Kumar told the media at Ranchi Press Club on Saturday. “The sulphur content in BS VI grade fuel will be only one-fifth of that in BS IV fuel,' he informed, adding it will come down from 50ppm (parts per million) to 10ppm now.

“Sulphur content was 350ppm when emission standard was first introduced as BS III in 2010,” Kumar said. “It came down to 50ppm in BS IV in 2017 and will now further dip to 10 ppm next month.”

He added: “This will bring down emission of nitrogen oxide, popularly known as NOx, drastically. Reduction of NOx in diesel cars will be by 68 per cent, in heavy vehicles by 82 per cent and in petrol cars by 25 per cent.” The reduction on ppm count will be 87 per cent and 67 per cent in diesel cars and heavy vehicles respectively, he said.

Indian Oil will introduce a diesel exhaust fluid ClearBlue to reduce air pollution from diesel engines, Kumar said.

Indian Oil earmarked Rs 17,000 crore to get its facilities upgraded and equipped for smooth transition from BS IV to BS VI, he added.

The oil company has two terminals at Khunti and Jasidih in the state.