Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms directly by 01.04.2020. A unanimous decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and attended by Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Anant Geete, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan along with senior officials of the Ministries. Therefore, the Government has taken a bold decision to skip BS-V emission norms altogether.

The Ministry will soon issue a notification in this regard. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has assured supply of BS-VI fuel across the country by 01.04.2020. The Ministry has withdrawn an earlier draft which had suggested shifting to BS-VI after switch to BS-V. The Ministry is also sure that the Indian Automobile industry with its technical competence and commitment to environment will rise to the occasion and support the decision.

It may be mentioned that the Auto Fuel Policy had recommended implementation of BS-VI norms by 2024. Earlier in the draft notification by the Ministry the date was advanced to 01.04.2021 and now it has been further advanced to 01.04.2020.

What is BS?

Bharat stage emission standards are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate change.

The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of the norms have to be compliant with the regulations.