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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