The Centre on Saturday decided to advance the dates for implementation of the higher level Bharat Stage (BS) emission standards for four-wheelers by three years.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways issued the draft notification to roll out the BS-V norms from April 1, 2019 and BS-VI norms from April 1, 2021 onwards. The norms aim at substantial reduction in NOx/4C levels.
“As per the roadmap earlier laid down by the Auto Fuel Policy, BS-V norms were to be implemented from April 1, 2022 and BS-VI from April 1, 2024,” the Ministry said in a statement issued here.
The Ministry’s decision means it will not skip BS-V and go in for BS-VI standards. At one stage, there had been contemplation over skipping the BS-V stage for faster redressal of the pollution issues. But various automotive bodies, including SIAM, had opposed the skipping of the BS-V norms.
The Ministry’s statement attributed the advancement of implementation dates to Nitin Gadkari’s “keenness” that the road transport sector should take a lead role in reducing the harmful effects of emissions on environment and climate change. “This reflects a firm commitment to play a major role in reducing vehicular emissions,” the Ministry maintained.
The Ministry said draft norms for two and three-wheeler categories will be notified shortly with advanced timelines similar to the four wheeler category.
As of now, nearly 35 cities in India follow the BS-IV norms with the rest adhering to BS-III standards.
Different Ministries have been debating over the timeline for the introduction of the BS-V and VI emission standards.
Many countries in the West have already put a Euro-VI standard in place. BS-VI is its equivalent. As things stand, India is five years behind the emission standards adopted by European countries.
According to the Centre’s expert committee, the automotive industry would require investments worth Rs 50,000 crore for transitioning from BS-IV to BS-V. And an amount of Rs 60,000 crore will be required to produce BSIV/BSV diesel from refineries.