[Aditya]

Earlier this year, we had reported that the Government of India was planning to introduce BS-VI emission norms in the country by 2023. According to media reports, the roll out could be advanced by two years to 2021. The government claims that it does not want to delay the introduction of stricter norms in order to control the rising pollution caused by vehicles.

A draft issued by the road transport ministry instructs manufacturers to produce only BS-V compliant four wheelers from April 2019 and only BS-VI compliant four wheelers from April 2021. Manufacturers will be given a one year grace period from the date of enforcement of the norms to ensure that their existing models meet the necessary emission standards.

Since the proposed gap between the implementation of the two norms is not too long, the ministry expects manufacturers to skip the production of BS-V complaint cars and start manufacturing BS-VI complaint vehicles.

India is approximately 5 years behind Europe in emission norms. The earlier BS-VI norms are introduced, the quicker can the gap to Europe be closed.

At present, BS-III compliant vehicles are on sale in most parts of the country. BS-IV norms are expected to be implemented in April 2017. BS-IV fuel, which is available only in forty cities at the moment, will be sold all over the country from 2017.

Source: ET Auto

[SS-Traveller]

This will be an interesting tussle between the government, automobile manufacturers and the oil companies.

BS III, BS IV… BS VI? Here's why India's auto emission norms are, well, BS

by FP Staff Jun 2, 2015 13:30 IST

...the government's plan to skip an entire stage of auto emission norms has now come under the scanner.

The auto emission norms are emission standards which are adopted by the government of a nation to check the air pollutants released from any internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.

These norms were introduced in India in 2000, when the Bharat Stage norms were adopted by the then government, based on the European emission norms. Each stage specifies a certain limit on the pollutants released, which is controlled by the type of fuel made by the oil companies and the upgradations and modifications made by the auto firms to their vehicles to control the pollutants released from the vehicle.

India had enforced Bharat stage III norms across the country since October 2010. In 13 major cities, Bharat stage IV emission norms were put in place since April 2010.

Currently, BS-IV petrol and diesel are being supplied in whole of Northern India covering Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and parts of Rajasthan and western UP. The rest of the country has BS-III grade fuel.

From 1 April, 2016, all of Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra-Nagar-Haveli and Andaman & Nicobar will get BS-IV fuel. The rest of the country is scheduled to get supplies of BS-IV from 1 April, 2017.

On the other hand, China had already implemented China V norms in 2013. India also lags behind the European auto emission norms by five years.

Although the initial plan was to upgrade the norms to BS-V by 1 April, 2020, a report of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas tabled in Parliament in May said that the Oil Ministry is "considering a proposal to switch over directly from BS-IV to BS-VI auto fuels by April 1, 2020 instead of stepwise upgradation from BS-IV to BS-V and then BS-V to BS-VI." BS-VI was initially to be introduced in 2024.

Skipping an entire stage of emission norms might not be a good idea as it will put a lot of pressure on the auto firms and even the oil companies, which have supported skipping of BS-V stage.

The auto firms in India have made it clear that they would face difficulty in funding the major upgradation and re-designing process of vehicles they will have to undertake if the government decides to skip BS-V.

Mahindra & Mahindra Executive Director Pawan Goenka in March had told PTI: "The jump from BS-IV (equivalent of Euro 4) to BS-VI (equivalent of Euro 6) standards by 2023 would be too much of a significant technological jump for the auto firms. We feel shifting from Euro 4 to Euro 6 would be difficult."

In fact, Goenka was talking about the difficulty to shift to BS-VI norms by 2023, whereas the government plans to enforce the BS-VI norms much earlier by 2020.

"In BS-V, vehicles have to be fitted with a diesel particulate filter, which needs to be optimised for Indian road conditions. In stage VI, selective catalytic reduction technology has to be optimised. At each stage, the technology would have to be validated over 6 lakh to 7 lakh km. Given the complexity of the process, these technologies can only be optimised in series and not simultaneously. It is not possible to skip BS-V,” Indian Express quoted KK Gandhi, executive director (tech), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers as saying.

On the other hand, the Indian oil companies had told the government that they would be in a position to make BS-VI fuel ready by 2020, according to The Times of India.

However, sources from the auto industry told Indian Express that the oil firms have indicated that they would not be able to even meet the target of providing BS-IV fuel across the country by 2017.

“It requires an investment of at least Rs 2,500 crore to upgrade one particular refinery in order to produce superior fuel. If we do that, our margins are going to take a hit. So, who will compensate for that?” Indian Express quoted a senior Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd executive as saying.

The report added that due to the reluctance of the refiners, the oil ministry might petition the Finance Ministry to subsidise the investment for upgradation to BS-VI.

According to a PTI report, oil refineries will need to invest a staggering Rs 80,000 crore in upgrading petrol and diesel quality to meet cleaner Euro-IV/V fuel specifications by 2020. It should be noted this amount will be needed for BS-V norms, even though there is not much difference between BS-V and VI.

(With inputs from PTI)

[mrbaddy]

SIAM says 2021 timeline for BS-VI is unrealistic while responding positively on the advanced timeline for BS-V norms to 2019.

Excerpt from the post on Rushlane.

SIAM takes a positive note of Government’s decision to progress BS V emission norms to 2019 from 2022. This would have a positive effect in reducing pollution levels from automobiles by 80% where PM 2.5 for HCV is concerned and by 90% in the case of passenger vehicles while NOx will see reduction by 60% and 64% respectively. These reduced levels will contribute to better air quality in India.

Though looked upon favorably, the adoption of BS V norms will need 10 PPM sulphur BS V fuel to be introduced by oil companies while new technology in vehicles will also have to be introduced. In the event of this required fuel being unavailable, using BS IV fuel could prove detrimental to the engine and to the after-treatment devices fitted to vehicles. This could have negate the benefits of shifting to new fuel. If the vehicle and fuel is not compatible, the higher emission norms cannot be met, said Mr. Dasari, President, SIAM.

In addition to this, speaking about the progression to BSVI emission norms from 2024 to 2021, SIAM says that it is unrealistic and needs to be pushed back to atleast 2023, considering the extensive testing and new technologies involved. Technology providers have also stated that offering BS VI solutions on all types of 4 wheelers as early as 1st April, 2021 would be difficult and dangerous without adequate testing and validation.

Mr. Vinod Dasari President, SIAM, is of the opinion that BS VI emission norms will not have any major impact on PM 2.5 emission in cars as there is no change in PM at BS VI levels and hence a longer timeline is recommended specially from safety point of view. Dasari is confident that the Government will take a more practical approach to the introduction of BS VI emission norms keeping in mind emission and safety.

[SVRAMAN70]

I have a related question / doubt. A number of cars being sold in India already claim compliance with Euro 6 norms viz the Bmw, Mini etc. Does our current diesel fuel standard support these cars ? Would it be wise to have a Euro 6 standard car in India today without risking damage to the engine ?

[Aditya]

The Government of India has announced that it has decided to skip BS-V emission norms altogether and implement BS-VI emission norms by April 1, 2020 for four-wheelers.

The government's initial plan was to implement BS-VI norms in 2024, which was advanced to 2021. It had planned to implement BS-V norms in 2019. The government claims that the step to leapfrog BS-V norms has been taken as a measure to reduce the air pollution in the country.

At present, BS-IV norms have been implemented in major cities and BS-III norms in rest of the country. Other big cities will have BS-IV norms by April 2016 and the entire country is expected to get them by 2017.

Upgrading to BS-VI will mean that automobile manufacturers and oil refineries will have to make heavy investments. Prices of cars are likely to rise as well. However, India's emission norms are many years behind developed countries, and the jump will enable it to close the gap considerably.

Source: Economic Times

[RSR]

While I heartily welcome the government's intent in trying to advance the implementation of BS-VI emission norms, I'm going to wait and watch before applauding them.

The reason is very simple. This move (if implemented as intended) goes directly against the vested interests of the diesel lobby and the oil mafia!

The above mentioned two are the most notorious cabals that are directly and indirectly holding back the advancement of the Indian automobile scenario, in order to serve their own vested interests. They do this by trying everything possible to keep India adhering to lowly & crappy Third World standards (in all spheres, be it safety, emissions, recalls etc.) for as much as possible, and for as long as possible.

Any move by any government or any court will be fought tooth and nail by the above mentioned cabals. They will simply not take anything like this lying down, I'm quite sure.

India's current emission standards aptly reflect the abbreviation used for them.

Most of the country still adheres to the ancient BS-III. BS-IV is still being implemented in phases and will take a while before the entire country is covered. BS-IV may sound like the equivalent of Euro-IV, but it's not! One of the above mentioned cabals (possibly both) have had a hand in diluting Euro-IV norms to suit their own vested interests.

I won't be surprised if BS-VI turns out to be a hilarious joke compared to Euro-VI. The two cabals are perfectly capable of doing such a thing. Already, the pathetic mainstream media morons have begun parroting the rubbish uttered by their paymasters in the diesel lobby and the oil mafia, about how "difficult" and "tough" this planned move is going to be. Some third rate "journalists" are even regurgitating the nonsense fed to them, such as how the planned move of the government may lead to a sizeable "contraction" of the Indian automobile market.

[abhik897]

We need to view this issue with one more perspective. The present scenario where BS IV was to be implemented nation wide by 31-Mar-2015 was delayed due to lack of fuel availability throughout the nation by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC). Just as car manufacturers need to make additional investment so that engines can use better graded fuel , similarly OMC companies need to invest and make adjustments to give better fuel. In the past OMC have been also at fault on this aspect on multiple occasions leading to different classes of BS complaint vehicles been sold in Indian metros and other tier cities.
By giving a good 5 year head start to OMC and also the vehicle manufacturers we can only pray this time that both finish their obligations as per the new time lines .

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by RSR

This move (if implemented as intended) goes directly against the vested interests of the diesel lobby and the oil mafial

Please pardon my ignorance, can you share more details. I understand majority of our oil companies are state controlled, while auto majors certainly lobby to avoid investment in expensive technology, I fail to understand the modus operandi as you mysteriously crafted in your post.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by Aditya

The Government of India has announced that it has decided to skip BS-V emission norms altogether and implement BS-VI emission norms by April 1, 2020 for four-wheelers.

The government's initial plan was to implement BS-VI norms in 2024, which was advanced to 2021. It had planned to implement BS-V norms in 2019. The government claims that the step to leapfrog BS-V norms has been taken as a measure to reduce the air pollution in the country.

At present, BS-IV norms have been implemented in major cities and BS-III norms in rest of the country. Other big cities will have BS-IV norms by April 2016 and the entire country is expected to get them by 2017.

Upgrading to BS-VI will mean that automobile manufacturers and oil refineries will have to make heavy investments. Prices of cars are likely to rise as well. However, India's emission norms are many years behind developed countries, and the jump will enable it to close the gap considerably.

Source: Economic Times

How much more stringent are the BS-VI norms compared to the BS-IV norms?
I appreciate the Government's intention to curb the pollution.

Will the upgraded engine technology to comply with BS-VI norms result into more complicated engines with more unexpected failures (reliability issues)?

What are the BS-VI fuel norms? Are they practically achievable consistently by the refineries after upgrading?

[RSR]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

I understand majority of our oil companies are state controlled

It's true that a majority of the oil companies are state-owned. That doesn't mean they don't behave like a mafia, in fact it only increases their mafiosi-like behaviour! Just take a look at the varying price differential between petrol & diesel (after both were supposedly "de-regulated") and the unhindered loot of petrol users to know the modus operandi and unholy nexus I mentioned earlier.

while auto majors certainly lobby to avoid investment in expensive technology

Yes! They surely do, and they'll certainly try all possible means to scuttle this move or dilute it.

I fail to understand the modus operandi as you mysteriously crafted in your post.

Please take a look at the difference in fuel quality & specifications between Euro IV diesel and BS IV diesel. It's listed in the table titled selected diesel parameters of the following page. Euro IV diesel has specifications for minimum flash point, maximum ash content and viscosity (at 40°C), while BS IV diesel does not. Even density specification (at 15°C) is better for Euro IV diesel. I suspect Euro IV diesel is noticeably better in terms of quality than the BS IV stuff sold in India (and that is without even taking into consideration the rampant adulteration that goes on this country):

http://transportpolicy.net/index.php...parison:_Fuels

Since Euro VI diesel has even more stringent specifications, which may require huge investments on the part of both the cabals to ensure compliance, I'll wait and watch to see how this turns out.

[Mohan Mathew A]

It is a laudable move but i am circumspect. Oil companies have not been able to deliver BS4 compliant fuel pan india 6 years after it has been first introduced in metros on 1st April 2010. That is a total of almost a decade of time for doing the necessary changes. So now they have to make it BS 6 compliant in 4 years time..umm

I feel one of the following 2, or maybe both, will happen

1) Either 2020 implementation will be restricted to a few cities and the rest of the country will still run on BS 4 (since BS 5 has been now scrapped) for many years after that. This will not be good for BS6 engines as well for environment since in the process these these cities will not even get BS 5 fuel and engines which they would have got otherwise.

2) BS 6 standards will be diluted to a large extent

What is required is a firm commitment from refiners that they will be able to provide BS 6 fuel pan india by end of 2019 itself which will be a tough ask considering the track record.

[vinit.merchant]

What I do not understand is why is the SIAM cribbing.
Most of car manufacturers in India are from outside India. Infact, barring Tata & Mahindra, every other company is from abroad and has presence in Europe.

This means they already have the technology (R&D being done already) and they just need to bring it here.
As for M&M & Tata, they can always borrow the technology, if they are not up for it yet. 4.5 years is time enough to do that.

As for the state owned oil refineries, they already bleeding public money. Might as well give them the deadline and they too can borrow the technology already being used elsewhere.

As it is said, change is good, but it is not exactly looked forward to by those who need to change !

PS: Wonder what happens to the national engine a.k.a. 1.3 multijet. And in turn what happens to the engine manufacturer Fiat.

[kaushikr]

A laudable move with good intentions but will mostly be scuttled by the Oil and Automobile Industry groups.

My personal view is that with India on a growth trajectory of Automobile ownership, it is better to introduce cleaner vehicles earlier, than deal with the problem of cleaning up the environment with millions of less cleaner vehicles on road.

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

What I do not understand is why is the SIAM cribbing.
Most of car manufacturers in India are from outside India. Infact, barring Tata & Mahindra, every other company is from abroad and has presence in Europe.

This means they already have the technology (R&D being done already) and they just need to bring it here.
As for M&M & Tata, they can always borrow the technology, if they are not up for it yet. 4.5 years is time enough to do that.
.

The issue will be cost.

• Adhering to BS-VI assuming it is similar to EURO6 is going to be expensive, due to increased after-treatment equipment in the vehicles and the cost will have be passed on to the consumer. The service cost and lifetime maintenance cost will also increase.
  
• Even if the technology exists, testing and modifying the technology for Indian conditions and ensuring lifetime reliability is going to be expensive investment for Vehicle Manufacturers.
  
• The cost differential between Diesel and Petrol will also increase, as BSVI is expected to have larger impact on diesels. This will mean more consumers choosing Petrols Over Diesels.
  
• As the Indian car market is extremely price sensitive, Vehicle manufacturers will be worried that any changes in vehicle prices might affect consumer sentiment.
  

[sgiitk]

It has been decided to bypass Euro-V and go straight away to Euro-VI from 1 April 2020. the title is incorrect but see
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/50475428.cms
Industry will bleat, but so be it. I do not buy their arguments, since most have parent abroad, and the technology is available.

Yes, it will jack up the price of Diesels far more than petrol cars.

A few points arise:

1. Will it be nationwide?

2. I hope BS-VI does not dilute Euro-VI like BS-IV and Euro-IV.

3. What about HGVs which I understand are still BS-II.

4. Will our OMCs be able to produce and supply Euro-VI fuels. Even today OMCs are unable to produce sufficient BS-IV Diesel, and so buy Euro-V from RIL and cut it with their own juice to bring it down to BS-IV.

5. What about the special additives so endemic in our fuel bunks. What action will be taken to clean up this mess. I have it on reasonable authority that a 25% or more Kerosene content is de rigeur in the Diesel sold in smaller towns.

Looking forward to cleaner environment from 2020!!

[aneeshtn]

Pardon my ignorance here. I have a question, what would happen to the vehicles which would be purchase before the BS-VI implementation? Will those have to be converted to it? If not, will those vehicles run fine with the fuel standards at that time?

Could there be a policy to take those vehicles off the road once the new standards come in? Just few doubts.