The automotive industry is set to transition to BS-VI emission standards on April 1, 2020.

 

Bharat Stage VI Norms:

 

  • These are emission regulations implemented by the government to keep a check on emissions from motor vehicles.
  • It was firstly introduced in 2000, BS-II and BS-III norms enforced in 2005 and 2010 respectively and the current BS-IV norms were enforced in 2017. BS-V has been skipped in order to have a more stringent standard to curb pollution levels.
  • These norms are based on similar norms in Europe called Euro 4 and Euro 6.  
  • It is expected that this will reduce air pollution by 80-90 percent, particulate matter like PM 2.5 and PM 10 are the most harmful components and the BS VI will bring the cancer causing particulate matter in diesel cars by a phenomenal 80%.
  • NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars can be brought down by nearly 70%. In the petrol cars, they can be reduced by 25%.
  • BS-VI grade fuel only has 10 ppm sulphur content though BS IV contains 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur.

 

 The major kind of pollutants include:

  • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Carbon monoxide (CO)
  • Hydrocarbons (HC)
  • Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
  • Particulate matter (PM), or carbon soot, is another by-product of diesel as well as direct-injection petrol engines.