To regulate the pollution emitted by cars and two-wheelers, the Government of India has placed forth regulations known as Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES). The Central Government has mandated that every vehicle manufacturer, both two-wheels and four-wheels, ought to manufacture, sell and register solely BS6 (BSVI) vehicles from 1 April 2020. Both BSIV and BSVI area unit emission norms that set the most permissible levels for pollutants emitting from an automotive or a two-wheeler exhaust. Compared to the BS4, BS6 emission standards area unit stricter, whereas makers use this variation to update their vehicles with new options and safety standards, the largest or the numerous modification comes within the type of stricter permissible emission norms. The below table offers Associate in Nursing insight into the modification within the permissible emission levels of BS6 vehicles compared to BS4 vehicles: These area unit emission standards set by Bharat Safety Emission commonplace (BSEB) to manage the output of pollutants from vehicles plying on the road. The
Central Pollution Control Board, under the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C.C.), sets the permissible pollution levels and timeline to implement an equivalent by vehicle makers. The abbreviation of Bharat Stage is 'BS' suffixed with the iteration of the stage of emission norms, similar to how European emissions standards are named. The initial
BSI (BS1) standard was first introduced in mid 1999, with the second and third iteration first introduced in mid 2000 and 2005 named
BSII (BS2) and
BSIII (BS3), respectively
. The fourth iteration
BSIV or
BS4 was introduced in 2017, and therefore the delay between the introduction of BS3 and BS4 resulted in the fast-tracking of the BSVI or BS6 standards by skipping the
BSV (BS5) norms. Each of the regulations have stricter emission standards compared to its predecessors.
History The first emission norms were introduced in India in 1991 for petroleum distillate, and 1992 for diesel vehicles. These were followed by making the
Catalytic converter mandatory for petrol vehicles and the introduction of unleaded petrol in the market. On 29 April 1999, the
Supreme Court of India ruled that all vehicles in India have to meet Euro I or India 2000 norms by 1 June 1999 and Euro II will be imperative in the
NCR by 1 April 2000. Car makers were not prepared for this transition and in a subsequent judgement the implementation date for Euro II was not enforced. In 2002, the Indian Government accepted the report submitted by the
Mashelkar committee. The committee proposed a road map for the roll-out of
Euro based emission norms for India. It also recommended a phased implementation of future norms with the regulations being implemented in major cities first and extended to the rest of the country after a few years.
Background information The above standards apply to all new 4-wheeled vehicles sold and registered in the respective regions. In addition, the National Auto Fuel Policy introduces certain emission requirements for interstate buses with routes originating or terminating in Delhi or the other 10 cities. Progress of emission standards for 2-and 3-wheeled vehicles: In order to comply with the BSIV norms, 2- and 3-wheeler manufacturers will have to fit an evaporative emission control unit, which should lower the amount of fuel that is evaporated when the motorcycle is parked.
Trucks and buses Emission standards for new heavy-duty diesel engines—applicable to vehicles of GVW > 3,500 kg—are listed in Table 3. More details on Euro I–III regulations can be found in the
EU heavy-duty engine standards.
Light-duty diesel vehicles Emission standards for light-duty diesel vehicles (GVW ≤ 3,500 kg) are summarised in Table 4. Ranges of emission limits refer to different classes (by reference mass) of light commercial vehicles; comparable to
EU light-duty vehicle emission standards. The lowest limit in each range applies to passenger cars (GVW ≤ 2,500 kg; up to 6 seats). The test cycle has been the ECE + EUDC for low power vehicles (with maximum speed limited to 90 km/h). Before 2000, emissions were measured over an Indian test cycle. Engines for use in light-duty vehicles can be also emission tested using an engine dynamo-meter. The respective emission standards are listed in Table 5.
Light-duty petrol vehicles 4-wheeled vehicles Emissions standards for petrol vehicles (GVW ≤ 3,500 kg) are summarised in Table 6. Ranges of emission limits refer to different classes of light commercial vehicles (comparable to
EU light-duty vehicle emission standards). The lowest limit in each range applies to passenger cars (GVW ≤ 2,500 kg; up to 6 seats). Petrol vehicles must also meet an evaporative (SHED) limit of 2 g/test (effective 2000).
2- and 3-wheeled vehicles Emission standards for 2- and 3-wheeled petrol vehicles are listed in the following tables.
Overview of the emission norms in India • 1991 – Idle CO limits for petrol vehicles and free acceleration smoke for diesel vehicles, mass emission norms for petrol vehicles. • 1992 – Mass emission norms for diesel vehicles. • 1996 – Revision of mass emission norms for petrol and diesel vehicles, mandatory fitment of catalytic converter for cars in metros on unleaded petrol. • 1998 – Cold start norms introduced. • 2000 – India 2000 (equivalent to Euro I) norms, modified IDC (Indian
driving cycle), Bharat Stage II norms for Delhi. • 2001 – Bharat Stage II (equivalent to Euro II) norms for all metros, emission norms for
CNG and
LPG vehicles. • 2003 – Bharat Stage II (equivalent to Euro II) norms for 13 major cities. • 2005 – From 1 April, Bharat Stage IV (equivalent to Euro IV) norms for 13 major cities. • 2010 – Bharat Stage IV emission norms for 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers for the entire country, whereas Bharat Stage IV (equivalent to Euro IV) for 13 major cities for only 4-wheelers. Bharat Stage IV also has norms on OBD (similar to Euro III but diluted). • 2017 – Bharat Stage IV norms for all vehicles. • 2018 - Bharat Stage VI fuel norms from 1 April 2018 in Delhi instead of 2020. • 2020 – Bharat Stage VI fuel norms from 1 April 2020 nationwide switching India to world's cleanest diesel and
petrol. • 2023 - Bharat Stage VI Second Phase Fuel norms from 1 April 2023 have only Petrol also called RDE norms with e20 fuels.
CO2 emission India's auto sector accounts for about 18% of the total emissions in the country. Relative emissions from transport have risen rapidly in recent years, but like the EU, currently there are no standards for emission limits for pollution from vehicles.
Technology changes Technology changes in petrol engines As per Bharat Stage-6 norms, the emission of carbon monoxide is to be reduced by 30% and by 80%. The BS-6 norms also sets limits for Hydrocarbon and particulate emissions, which were not specified in earlier norms. To meet the emission requirements of Bharat Stage-6, the carburetors in petrol engines need to be replaced by the programmed fuel injectors. To further reduce tail pipe emissions, the exhaust system would be fitted with three way catalytic converters. The norms also mandates On-Board Diagnostic System (OBD) for all BS-6 compliant vehicles.
Technology changes in diesel engines As per the Bharat Stage-6 norms, the emissions from a diesel engines are to be reduced by 70% and particulates by 80%. To achieve this, the engines need to be equipped with Euro-6 compliant technologies. The major technical changes to associated with this are: • Fitting diesel particulate filters in exhaust system. • Using selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or
exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) techniques to reduce in emissions. • An on-board diagnostic system required to monitor the malfunctioning of parts related to emissions
Obligatory labelling There is also no provision to make the emissions labelling mandatory on cars in the country. A system exists in the EU to ensure that information relating to the fuel economy and emissions of new passenger cars offered for sale or lease in the Community is made available to consumers to enable consumers to make an informed choice. ==Non-road diesel engines==