Bharat Stage VI coming in 2020, official notification issued

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) has issued an official notification for the implementation of Bharat Stage VI emission norms. According to this notification, BS VI will be applicable from April 1, 2020.

This announcement comes after the government invited suggestions about the new emission norms in February this year. Automotive companies had earlier asked the government to delay the timeline in order to give enough time to the industry to cope with this major change. The Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) had even claimed that the automotive industry would need an investment of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore in order to meet all requirements within the stated deadline. However, the union government has not postponed the implementation date.

One of the biggest points of the official notification is the inclusion of particulate matter standards for two-wheelers and three-wheelers. This is the first time that PM standardization has been implemented for two-wheelers. Since the number of two-wheelers in big cities is huge, even small particulate emissions from them can accumulate into a big particulate load.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based green body, has claimed that with the implementation of BSVI, there will be a reduction of 89% in the particulate matter emissions from two-wheelers, while NOx emissions will be cut by 76%. In case of cars, a reduction of 82% in PM emissions and 68% in NOx is expected to be seen.

To ensure strict compliance of the updated norms, the government has already decided to randomly pick cars from dealerships, in order to avoid any chances of manipulation on the manufacturers' part. An arrangement to test real-time emissions is also being made. For this, portable emissions monitoring systems (PEMS) are being implemented. This will help in monitoring whether or not the on-road vehicles produce emissions within their certified limits.