Indian Oil Company Limited (IOCL) has been developing a new grade of diesel for the Ladakh region, which was certified a few days ago. This new fuel has been developed to be BS6-compliant and has also been engineered to withstand extreme temperatures. The brand’s plant in Panipat has already dispatched the first batch of this new grade of diesel to Ladakh. However pricing for this new grade has yet to be revealed.

This new grade of diesel has been created with a small mix of biodiesel (around 5 percent), which aids diesel performance in lower temperatures. Diesel, in its liquid form, freezes at -30deg C – a fairly common occurrence in the Ladakh region. IOCL's new diesel has been engineered to stay in its liquid state, even up to temperatures going as low as -33deg C. This ensures that the engine does not face fuel shortage due to frozen diesel and that the vehicle runs without issues.

Apart from this, IOCL also began distributing BS6-grade fuel in the National Capital Region (NCR) early last month. Districts in the NCR, who were instructed to adopt the higher grade of petrol and diesel by 2020, have thus done so prior to this deadline.