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All you need to know about India's BS-IV and BS-VI emission norms

In an innocuous tweet on Wednesday, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari let the cat out of the bag with the announcement that the country will "leap-frog to BS-VI directly from 01/04/2020".
That is good news considering the pollution levels in the National Capital Region. The Delhi government as well as the National Green Tribunal has implemented a slew of measures including bringing into force an Odd-even policy for vehicles to curb pollution, but a lot remains to be done. Gadkari's tweet in this light brings forward the date from which the BS-VI norms are to be brought into force in India.

What are BS norms?
Bharat Stage emission standards, introduced in 2000, are emission standards that have been set up the Central government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The different norms are brought into force in accordance with the timeline and standards set up by the Central Pollution Control Board which comes under the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change.
The Bharat Stage norms are based on European regulations. In 13 major cities, Bharat Stage IV emission standards were put in place in April 2010. BS-IV norms were supposed to come into effect nationwide from April 2017.

Difference in BS-IV and BS-VI standards
The BS norms have been similar to Euro norms till now, and with norms after BS-IV not defined yet, we compare the existing BS-III and BS-IV norms in India with the Euro 6 norms on which India's emission norms have been set.

Petrol Emission Norms (All figures in g/km)
 Emission Norm                  CO         HC          NOx      HC+NOx               PM
 BS-III    2.30                       0.20       0.15        ---           ---
 BS-IV    1.00                       0.10        0.08        ---           ---
 Euro 6  1.00                      0.10        0.06        ---                                         0.005

Diesel Emission Norms (All figures in g/km)
 Emission Norm                  CO         HC          NOx      HC+NOx               PM
 BS-III                                   0.64        ---          0.50        0.56                      0.05
 BS-IV                                    0.50       ---           0.25        0.30                       0.025
 Euro 6                                 0.50        ---          0.06        0.17                       0.005

Source - Indian Emissions Regulations/ARAI

CO emissions are Carbon Monoxide emissions are are more evident in Petrol engines. Long Term exposure can prevent oxygen transfer and increase headaches/nausea.
HC emissions are Hydrocarbons which are again more prevalent in Petrol engines. Short term exposure can cause headaches, vomiting and disorientation.
NOx emissions are Nitrogen Oxide emissions which are more prevalent in Diesel engines. Long Term exposure can cause Nose and eye irritation and damage lung tissue.
PM is Particulate matter, again more prevalent in a Diesel engine. Long Term exposure can harm the respiratory tract and reduce lung function.

Why the industry is resisting:
There are two major industries which now face problems: first is the oil refineries that will need a substantial investment to upgrade. These upgrades will allow the refineries to supply fuel types that can match the BS-V and BS-VI standards.
Second, the automobile manufacturers also need to progress gradually and skipping a step like BS-V might put extra pressure on the manufacturers to produce compliant vehicles.
The shift of technology from BS-IV to BS-VI is likely to cost anything between Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 80,000 crore to petroleum companies.

On the implementation of the BS-V and BS-VI norms, Business Standard quoted Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan as saying, "The BS-IV norms will cover a large part of the country by April 2016, and the remaining areas by April 2017. Technically, there is no difference between BS-V and BS-VI norms. Therefore, as a representative of the refining sector, we are in favour of switching over directly to BS-VI from BS-IV. Since there is hardly any difference between BS-V and BS-VI, why should the refineries be asked to invest in making the transition to BS-V and a second one to BS-VI? There is no BS-V in our dictionary.  We will move to BS-VI norms by 2020. This is our commitment as refiners."
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