Govt aims rolling out BS V, VI norms from 2019

In a bid to reduce harmful impact of carbon emission on environment, the government is looking to roll out Bharat Stage (BS) V and VI norms for vehicles from 2019 and 2021 respectively, covering four wheeler category, Parliament was informed on Thursday. "The draft notification proposes BS V norms to be implemented by April 2019 for new vehicle models and April 2020 for existing vehicle models," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. As per the proposal, BS VI norms are expected to be implemented by April 2021 for vehicle models and April 2022 for existing vehicle models, he said.

The Minister further said, "The draft notification amending Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 regarding BS V and BS VI emission norms have been put up on the official website of the Ministry for consultation with the public and other stakeholders." The government has also issued notification for use of electric and hybrid vehicles and alternate fuel like bio-CNG, bio-diesel, flex-fuel to reduce the harmful effects of emissions on the environment, he added. Last month, the government had said that it advanced the date for implementation of the roll out of BS stage V and VI norms for four-wheelers by three years. "The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a draft notification for implementation of BS-V and BS-VI norms for the automobile sector, covering four-wheeler category. The Ministry has decided to advance date for implementation of the higher level emission standards," the government has said. According to the roadmap earlier laid down by the Auto Fuel Policy, BS V norms were to implemented from April 1, 2022 and BS-VI from April 1, 2024, it added. In another reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan said the Ministry has notified draft notification for mass emission standards for bio-diesel for newly manufactured vehicles fitted with compression ignition engine compatible to run on diesel or mixture of bio-diesel up to 100 percent bio-diesel.