Bharat Stage Emission norms

Why is in news? Delhi govt lifts ban from BS-III petrol & BS-IV diesel vehicles

It was introduced in the year 2000.

They are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

Objective: To keep air pollutants emitted by the internal combustion engine of vehicles under control.

They are based on European (EURO) emission standards.

Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms were first brought into effect in 2000 under the head “India 2000”. This was followed by BS2 in 2001 and BS3 in 2005.

However, the emission norms were made more stringent only with the enforcement of Bharat Stage IV (BS4). Thereafter, the Government of India skipped the implementation of BS5 in 2016 and decided to introduce Bharat Stage VI (BS6) in 2020 instead.

Difference between BS-IV and BS-VI standards:

The main difference between the existing BS-IV and the upcoming BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur.

The BS-VI fuel is estimated to bring around an 80% reduction of sulphur, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm.

The emission of NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to come down by nearly 70% and 25% from cars with petrol engines.

Also, BS VI will bring the cancer causing particulate matter in diesel cars by a phenomenal 80%.