Environment

We have been witnessing poor auto sales this year primarily due to the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI but it would not be incorrect to state that the number of vehicles has almost doubled in the last decade and the sector has witnessed a 10% growth rate. 

India has moved up 14 places in 2019 in the World Bank's 'ease of doing business' rankings and is now 63rd among 190 nations. This reflects the positive impact of the reforms undertaken by the government to attract investment in the country. This has also ensured that India remains among the world's top 10 improvers for the third consecutive year. Balancing growth imperatives with environmental responsibilities remains the key challenge for India.

It has been a few weeks since the Union Budget for 2017-18 was presented. While many did not seem pleased with the budgetary focus on sustainability, the fact remains that finance minister Arun Jaitley has done well to allocate money for most crucial issues.

Yesterday, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India (SC), pursuant to its order in the case of M C Mehta v Union of India (WP (C) No. 13029/1985), imposed a complete ban on the sale and registration of Bharat Stage-III (BS-III) compliant two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers and commercial vehicles across the country from 1 April 2017.