About Bharat Stage 6 (BS VI)- Emission Norms and Control Strategies

The story of vehicle emission controls began in India when mass emission norms were enforced for the first time for petrol vehicles in 1991 and for diesel vehicles in 1992. Emission norms were further tightened in 1996 with the compulsory fitment of catalytic converters in petrol cars. Bharat Stage emission norms (equivalent to Euro norms for four-wheeled vehicles) were first introduced in 2000. These norms specify the maximum permissible emission limit for carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrous oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM).

While the application of a stricter emission norm may sound good, especially amidst the mounting concerns over the ever-rising pollution levels in the country, there’s a lot more to it than just that. Firstly, it takes years for automakers to develop a new kind of engine or to tweak around with the current ones used in their vehicles. Once the research and development are over, the task of setting up full-scale production comes up. All of this comes at a cost that eventually makes the vehicle more expensive for the end customer of the product and that can be a cause of concern for automakers given how price-sensitive the Indian market is.