CAFE Norms
Concept, History, and Architecture
CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) norms set a fleet-wide weighted average fuel consumption and CO₂ emission standard for each automaker, rather than regulating individual vehicle models.
- Governing body: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
- Legal basis: Energy Conservation Act, 2001 (Section 14(a) empowers BEE to set energy consumption standards for equipment/appliances, extended to vehicles).
- How it works: Each manufacturer's fleet-average CO₂ emission is calculated as a sales-weighted average across all models sold in India. If the average exceeds the CAFE target, the manufacturer pays a penalty.
- Credit mechanism: Manufacturers that outperform the target earn credits; these can be traded or carried forward. Super credits are given for EVs and hybrids (BEV: 3× multiplier, PHEV: 2.5×, Strong Hybrid: 1.6×).
- CAFE-I: FY2017-18 to FY2021-22 (introduced the framework at ~130 g CO₂/km).
- CAFE-II: FY2022-23 to FY2026-27 (tightened to ~113 g CO₂/km fleet average by end of phase).
- CAFE-III: FY2027-28 to FY2031-32 (target: 78.9 g CO₂/km by FY32 — approximately a 30% reduction from CAFE-II end level).
● Tracked since April 24, 2026 · last seen August 31, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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