The Indian government has decided to head straight for Bharat Stage (BS)-VI emission norms for automobiles from the current BS-III and BS-IV standards, said Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India in an interview to CNBC TV-18 today. The date for implementation has also been revised to April 1, 2020 from early 2021.
Oil refining companies have been directed to invest Rs 30,000 crore to develop fuel compliant with the revised standards.
This will mean that BS-V will be skipped altogether. Automobile companies say they have been pushing for complete implementation of BS-IV first, as it is currently applicable only in top 30 cities and yet to be implemented pan-India. Companies also point out that they are worried about the technology gap that might be faced for moving directly from BS-IV to BS-VI.
Analysts expect the investment required in making the engine and fuel compliant to these new norms to make four-wheelers costlier by about Rs 1.0-1.5 lakh.
The new norms will be applicable to four-wheelers as well as two-wheelers.
It must be noted that BS-V as well as BS-VI are seen to be Particulate Matter (PM) neutral and will be instrumental in reducing pollution worries.
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