BS-VI Norms

About BS-VI Norms

What are BS-VI Norms

Bharat stage (BS) emission standards are laid down by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine and spark-ignition engine equipment, including motor vehicles.

The central government has mandated that vehicle makers must manufacture, sell and register only BS-VI (BS6) vehicles from April 1, 2020.

The first emission norms were introduced in India in 1991 for petrol and in 1992 for diesel vehicles. Followed these, the catalytic converter became mandatory for petrol vehicles and unleaded petrol was introduced in the market.

Difference Between BS4 and BS6

Both BS-IV and BS-VI are unit emission norms that set the maximum permissible levels for pollutants that an automotive or a two-wheeler exhaust can emit. Compared to the BS4, BS6 emission standards are stricter. Whereas makers use this variation to update their vehicles with new options and safety standards, the biggest modification comes in the permissible emission norms.

What area unit BSI, BSII, BSIII, BSIV, and BSVI emission norms?

The abbreviation BS, as mentioned above, refers to ‘Bharat Stage’. It is prefixed to the iteration of the actual emission norms. The primary rules with the soubriquet Asian nation 2000 were introduced in the year 2000, with the second and third iterations being introduced in 2001 and 2005 with the soubriquet BSII (BS2) and BSIII (BS3), respectively.

The fourth iteration, BSIV, was introduced in 2017 and therefore the delay between the introduction of BS3 and BS4 resulted in fast-tracking the BSVI or BS6 emission norms rather than BSV (BS5) norms.

On 29 April 1999, the Supreme Court of India ruled that all vehicles in the country had to meet Euro I or India 2000 norms by June 1, 1999, and Euro II would be mandatory in the National Capital Region (NCR) from April 2000. Carmakers were not prepared for this transition and in a subsequent judgment, the implementation of Euro II was deferred.

In 2002, the government accepted the report submitted by the Mashelkar committee, which proposed a road map for the rollout of Euro-based emission norms in India. It also recommended a phased implementation of future norms, with regulations being implemented in major cities first and extended to the rest of the country after a few years.

Based on the recommendations of the committee, the National Auto Fuel policy was announced officially in 2003. The road map for the implementation of the BS norms was laid out until 2010. The policy also created guidelines for auto fuels, reduction of pollution from older vehicles and R&D for air quality data creation and health administration.

The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Since October 2010, Bharat Stage (BS) III norms were enforced across the country. BS-IV emission norms were put in place in 13 major cities from April 2010, and the entire country from April 2017.

In 2016, the government announced that the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.

In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of motor vehicles conforming to Bharat Stage IV emission standard in the entire country from 1 April 2020.

On 15 November 2017, the Union petroleum ministry, in consultation with public oil marketing companies, decided to bring forward the date of BS-VI grade auto fuels in NCT of Delhi with effect from 1 April 2018, instead of 1 April 2020.

In fact, the ministry asked OMCs to examine if introducing BS VI auto fuels in the whole of the NCR area from 1 April 2019 was possible. The step was taken due to the problem of air pollution faced by Delhi, which became worse around 2019. The decision was met with disarray by the automobile companies, as they had planned their production according to a 2020 road map.

The phasing out of the 2-stroke engine for two-wheelers, the cessation of production of the Maruti 800, and the introduction of electronic controls have been due to the regulations related to vehicular emissions.

Latest Updates on BS-VI Norms

Delhi's AQI 'very poor' at 388 on Friday, Grap-3 rules to continue

Delhi Minister for Environment Gopal Rai on Thursday said that the city's air quality is expected to improve in the next two to three days

Updated On: 24 Nov 2023 | 9:15 AM IST

Ashok Leyland delivers AVTR 1922, India's first LNG-powered haulage truck

With this, Ashok Leyland becomes the first Indian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to unveil an in-house LNG engine compliant with BS VI Stage II emission standards

Updated On: 06 Nov 2023 | 4:07 PM IST

Permit only CNG, electric, BS VI vehicles in Delhi-NCR: Rai urges Centre

In a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Rai expressed concerns about the expected deterioration in air quality in the coming days due to Diwali and stubble burning

Updated On: 04 Nov 2023 | 1:39 PM IST

BS VI phase 2: Jeep discontinues petrol, Trailhawk variants of Compass

This means that Jeep Compass will now be sold as a diesel-only SUV in the country

Updated On: 18 May 2023 | 6:48 PM IST

To match Indian aspirations, carmakers to launch 81 new vehicles this year

Carmakers are looking at new sub-segments in the SUV space and trying to expand their offerings to lure in more and more customers

Updated On: 01 May 2023 | 12:06 PM IST

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BS VI phase 2: Hyundai joins peers, bids farewell to diesel engine sedans

Diesel engine vehicles have seen a steep hike in prices after the second phase of BS-VI norms was implemented by the government

Updated On: 22 Mar 2023 | 11:20 AM IST

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One of the key reasons that Wabco India would rank higher compared to other auto component firms is the lower impact from new technology disruption

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Higher content share in BS-VI, two-wheeler electric vehicles offer incremental opportunities

Updated On: 15 Jan 2021 | 12:34 AM IST

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Near term margin improvement will also be an area to watch out for

Updated On: 10 Nov 2020 | 1:44 AM IST

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Industry body is optimistic about govt's push for greater localisation of components, but says indigenous manufacture will take some time

Updated On: 25 Sep 2020 | 8:09 PM IST

HMSI crosses 1.1 mn sales in India for BS-VI compliant two wheelers

The company said it had ended 2019-20 fiscal with sales of over 650,000 units of BS-VI compliant two-wheelers

Updated On: 24 Jul 2020 | 6:07 PM IST

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Maruti launches BS VI compliant S-CNG variant of S-Presso at Rs 4.84 lakh

The new trim comes with one litre engine delivering a mileage of 31.2 km/kg

Updated On: 22 Jun 2020 | 8:06 PM IST

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Capital allocation, urban volumes, new regime key factors to be seen

Updated On: 13 Jun 2020 | 1:04 AM IST

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Hero MotoCorp Q4 PAT falls 26% to Rs 613 cr, revenue at 6,333.8 cr

For the fiscal year ended March 31, the company posted a consolidated PAT of Rs 3,641.12 crore as compared with Rs 3,451.37 crore in the previous fiscal

Updated On: 10 Jun 2020 | 12:32 AM IST

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Diesel and petrol vehicles to co-exist in BS-VI era offerings: Honda

The fifth generation City, which is all set for debut in the country, will have BS-VI compliant petrol and diesel trims, while the Civic already has a BS-VI petrol engine since March 2019.

Updated On: 08 Jun 2020 | 7:18 PM IST

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What did it take Ashok Leyland to come up with a customised truck?

An important innovation in the automobile sector in recent years, albeit restricted to passenger vehicles including four- and two-wheelers, had been customisation

Updated On: 07 Jun 2020 | 8:28 PM IST

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BS-VI compliant vehicles to display green sticker with registration details

The order will come into force from October 1, 2020

Updated On: 07 Jun 2020 | 5:00 PM IST

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Auto dealers fear heavy losses with BS-IV inventory stuck due to Covid-19

The dealers can only sell BS-IV inventory till April 24, under the current situation. The SC had said the relaxation was not for the Delhi-NCR region, making dealers of the area particularly tense

Updated On: 05 Apr 2020 | 11:11 PM IST

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Used cars could see an upswing after BS-VI switch despite sales slump

The used cars space is expected to reach 6.7 to 7.2 million cars per year and be valued at Rs 50,000 crore by FY22

Updated On: 30 Mar 2020 | 11:26 PM IST

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For BS-VI transition, coordination with carmakers was key: IOC chairman

Vehicles and the fuel they run on have to switch over to BS-VI emission norms before April 1

Updated On: 30 Mar 2020 | 11:26 PM IST