While most of the country is still adhering to BS-III norms, the government seems to be getting set to crack the whip early and bring in the BS-VI norms by jumping over the BS-V step on the emission guidelines ladder. This does come as a surprise but if implemented, will be a major factor in reducing the ever-increasing city air pollution issues.
Cars in 33 major cities in the country have to adhere to the BS-IV norms right now and the rest of the country is supposed to reach this level only in 2017. As per a report in Economic Times, the national fuel policy was supposed to enact BS-V standards by the year 2020 and BS-VI by 2024. If the government has its way, it wants the country to move to BS-VI directly by 2020, a feat which can be achieved if the manufacturers help.
At this point, we believe Indian car makers as well as the foreign players have the technological know-how to make their engines compliant to BS-VI norms, which is in tandem with European Euro 6 specifications.
This news, however, may not be taken very well by car makers as a jump in emission norms means that companies will have to invest more money to make their engines cleaner. This will ultimately lead to an escalation of prices of cars…. The government though is doing its part by increasing the quality of fuel. The oil companies are expected to supply only BS-IV grade fuel in the entire Northern India (apart from a few remote locations in the Himalayas) from April this year.
