India to go directly to BS-VI emission norms by 2020

The move comes at a time when the role of vehicular emissions is under increasing public scrutiny

India will move up to the toughest emission standards of BS-VI from the current BS-IV by 2020, skipping the intermediate level of BS-V, transport minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted.
The decision was jointly taken by Gadkari, heavy industries minister Anant Geete, environment minister Prakash Javadekar and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Me & my colleagues @PrakashJavdekar, Anant Geete, @dpradhanbjp have taken a unanimous decision to leap-frog to BS VI (Bharat Stage VI) directly from 01/04/2020,” Gadkari tweeted.
The move comes at a time when the role of vehicular emissions in polluting the atmosphere is under increasing public scrutiny. Pollution levels in several cities in India are consistently marked ‘hazardous’ and capital Delhi has been ranked the world’s most polluted city.
Currently, only 50 cities in India get BS IV fuel, while the rest still use BS III fuel. By switching to BS-VI, India will join the league of US, Japan and European Union, which follow Euro Stage VI emission norms. BS-VI is the Indian equivalent of Euro Stage VI.
To be sure, Bosch Ltd, world’s largest manufacturer of fuel injection systems and engine technologies, in 2015 warned government that such a move could lead to safety and quality problems such as self-acceleration and engine damage. Bosch, in a letter dated 5 June, said that in order to change from BS IV to BS V, it needs as much as four-and-a-half years of lead time for design, application and validation of new engine technologies, and similar time to graduate to BS V1. Mint reported this on 16 June.
While there is significant difference between the quality of BS IV and BS V fuel, BS VI fuel will have sulphur content nearly the same that of BS V. Moving to BS VI directly requires significant technological upgrades requiring Rs40,000-Rs60,000 crore by the auto industry. Indian refiners will need to make investments to the tune of Rs30,000 crore in order to supply BS VI compliant fuels, according to Gadkari.
As per the original timeline in the Auto Fuel Policy, BS IV is to be adopted across the country by 2017, BS V by 2020 and BS VI by 2024.