Oil companies have already begun supplying high speed diesel (HSD) with less than 0.25 per cent sulphur content from the beginning of this month.

Earlier the most widely used transport fuel had a sulphur content of 0.5 per cent. Industry sources said oil companies had already begun supplying lead-free petrol countrywide to meet the February 1 deadline set by the petroleum minister. Naik said after Tuesday (February 1) "we will ensure that only unleaded petrol is available".

Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas E Ponnuswamy said the seven per cent annual increase in oil consumption had coincided with a three per cent decrease in production, referring perhaps to the stagnant crude oil output within the country. "This gap is being bridged by imports," he said, adding, "If we avoid wastage of at least 10 per cent and save oil by another 10 per cent, we may save Rs 12,000 crore out of this Rs 60,000 crore spent for importing (crude oil and petroleum products)."

Emphasing the need to conserve energy and particularly oil, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, also minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, said that by 2005, roads would carry 15 per cent more passenger traffic and 10 per cent more goods traffic, increasing the demand for petroleum fuels in that proportion. At the moment 70 per cent of passenger traffic and 60 per cent of freight moves on roadways and the rest moves on rail.

Gangwar said by 2005 roads would carry 85 per cent of passenger traffic and 70 per cent of the country's goods traffic. He said the demand for petroleum products was also expected to increase considerably in the farm and domestic sectors.

Petroleum secretary and Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) chairman S. Narayan said the oil conservation drive of the PCRA had resulted in Rs 1049 crore of savings in 1998-99.