[Answered] “Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) mass emission standards will benefit India technologically and environmentally. Discuss.

The Bharat Stage norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The norms were introduced in 2000. With appropriate fuel and technology, they limit the release of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, particulate matter (PM) and sulphur oxides from vehicles. As the Bharat stage goes up, the control on emissions become more strict.

Need for emission norms:

1. Major pollutants such as fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide are emitted by vehicles in India which severely affect the health of the people.
2. Higher sulphur and nitrogen content results in respiratory diseases.
3. Many Indian cities including Delhi are among top 10 cities in the world facing severe air pollution issue.
4. Other developing countries such as China having already upgraded to the equivalent of Euro V emission norms. India has been lagging behind.

Some major environmental and technological benefits of Bharat Stage VI norms:

1. Air pollutants in BS-VI fuel are much less as compared to BS-IV fuel. With BS-VI fuel, for every one kilometre, a car will emit nearly 70% lesser nitrogen oxide.
2. In BS-VI fuel, the volume of PM 2.5 ranges from 20 to 40 micrograms per cubic metre whereas in BS-IV fuel it is up to 120 micrograms per cubic metre. Thus the Particulate Matter (PM) emission will see a substantial reduction of 80% in diesel engines.
3. Real Driving Emission will be introduced for the first time that will measure the emission in real-world conditions and not just under test conditions.
4. Bharat Stage VI norms will also change the way particulate matter is measured. It will now be measured by number standard instead of mass standard thereby, regulating the fine particulate matter as well.
5. BS-VI fuel will bring down sulphur content by 5 times from the current BS-IV levels. Sulphur in the fuel contributes to fine particulate matter emissions. High sulphur content in the fuel also leads to corrosion and wear of the automobile engine.
6. BS-VI norms also seek to reduce the level of certain harmful hydrocarbons in the emissions that are produced due to incomplete combustion of fuel.
7. The shift from BS-IV to BS-VI compliant vehicles, will lead to better vehicles with more fuel efficiency and less wear and tear. Car makers will have to start producing BS VI fuel compliant engines as quickly as possible to avail benefits of the cleaner fuel.
8. On-board diagnostics, will help to detect the malfunction with the help of the error codes sent by the malfunctioning component. The OBD unit will be able to identify likely areas of malfunction by means of fault codes stored on a computer ensuring that emission control device which is fitted in a BS-VI vehicle runs at optimum efficiency throughout the life of the vehicle.
9. For meeting gasoline fuel quality, desulphurisation technologies along with octane boosting units are being installed.

Thus Bharat Stage 6 would ensure environment friendly vehicles. As the problem of air pollution has turned into a global challenge, concerted efforts by all stakeholders are required to deal with this pressing issue. The aim is to reduce emissions from vehicles. This will ensure a healthy environment in India.