BS6 emission norms: all you need to know

The switch to cleaner emission norms will primarily require fuels with significantly lower sulphur content. BS6 grade petrol and diesel are limited to just 10 mg/kg of sulphur, compared to the 50 mg/kg content in BS4 fuels. With regard to benefits, the lower the sulphur content in the fuel, the cleaner it burns.

BS-VI Bharat Stage emission standards in India

What is BS6 (BSVI)?

The governing body, Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES), regulates the output of pollutants from vehicles plying in the country. The Central Pollution Control Board which falls under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change sets the standards to regulate emissions from vehicles in India.

The first emission standard or norm, introduced in the year 2000, was known as ‘India 2000’ and later, BS2 and BS3 were introduced in 2005 and 2010, respectively. While the first three emission norms were introduced at regular intervals, BS4 was introduced in 2017, after a gap of seven years.

The BS6 emission standard is the sixth iteration of the emission norm and comparatively, it’s a substantial leap in terms of reducing pollution compared to the outgoing BS4. This is also because the BS5 (BSV) has been skipped in an effort to move to better emission norms.

How does BS6 emission norms differ from BS4?

The following are the key differences between BS4 and BS6 emission norms:

● Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) are being introduced with the roll-out of Bharat Stage VI norms, which were not a part of Bharat Stage IV.

● Real Driving Emission (RDE) will be introduced in India for the first time with the implementation of Bharat Stage VI emission norms. It will measure a vehicle’s emission in real-time conditions against laboratory conditions.

● Another change that is being introduced with the implementation of Bharat Stage VI emission norms is that Onboard Diagnostics (OD) has been made mandatory for all vehicles.

● Change in the fuel used in vehicles is the major upgrade that is being brought about with the roll-out of Bharat Stage VI emission norms. A vehicle with BS6 compliant engine will require BS6 fuel. If a BS6 vehicle uses BS4-grade fuel, it won’t be able to adhere to the BS6 emission norms. Similarly, if a BS4 vehicle uses BS6-grade fuel, its engine will take a hit and increase emissions.

● The most crucial difference between BS6-grade fuel and BS4-grade fuel will be in terms of Sulphur and Nitrogen Oxide content. The sulphur traces in BS6 fuel is five times lower (10 ppm) as compared to sulphur traces in BS4 fuel (50 ppm). Further, nitrogen oxide level for BS6-grade diesel engines and petrol engines will be brought down by 70% and 25%, respectively.

BS4 VS BS6

Should I buy bs4 or wait for bs6?

That means you cannot legally resale or re-register any existing bs4 cars after April 2020. would essentially become scrap if you don't want to use it. If you want to change your car in next four five years, better wait for bs6 and you will get resale value.

Will bs6 increase price?

While the price impact on gasoline variants of compact cars and SUVs will be smaller in the range of 3-5%, it is the larger diesel vehicles that will see a minimum of a 8-10% price increase when these vehicles transition to BS6. ... In a nutshell, BS6 vehicles will be more expensive to own and maintain.

What will happen to bs4 cars after 2020?

In a recent ruling, The Supreme Court has ruled that BS4 vehicles will not be sold after March of 2020 when the BS6 norms are put in place. The BS (Bharat Stage) norms are based on EURO (European) emissions standards. ... It wasn't until BS4 (4th stage) (BS IV), that more stringent emissions mandates were enforced.

Will BS4 vehicles be banned after the introduction of BS6 vehicles?

As per the mandate ruled out by the Supreme Court of India in October 2018, the sale and purchase of Bharat Stage IV vehicles will be banned after April 2020. The court has asked all car manufacturers to clear their stock of BS4 vehicles before the deadline. The court has also made it clear that it will not provide any extension to car manufacturers for the stock clearance of BS4 vehicles.

However, the Finance Minister of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that BS4 vehicles purchased till March 2020 will remain operational throughout the period of registration. So, if you own a BS4 compliant car, you don’t need to worry about selling it immediately and buy a BS6 compliant car.

Will BS4 vehicles be able to run on BS6-grade fuel?

If you own a Bharat Stage IV car that is powered by petrol, you can relax as you do not have to worry about Bharat Stage VI compliance. The reason being, BS6-grade petrol and BS4-grade petrol have very similar chemical composition. However, if you are an owner of a diesel-powered car of Bharat Stage IV generation, you might have to face some problems.

As discussed earlier, BS4-grade diesel has sulphur traces of 50 ppm, whereas BS6-grade diesel has only 10 ppm sulphur traces. Although this low sulphur content is forgiving for the environment, it can be harmful for BS4 engines. A diesel engine depends on its injector to ionise the fuel and make it combustible, and the sulphur in diesel acts as a lubricant for the injector.

If you use BS6-grade diesel in a BS4 vehicle, low sulphur content will lead to less lubrication and hence can cause frictional issues. This in turn will wear out the injector prematurely, cause disruptions in the flow pattern of the fuel and increase emissions. As a result, the ultimate motive of decreasing air pollution will be compromised.

Will BS4 or BS6 vehicles be able to run on BS4 or BS6-grade fuel

Will BS6 vehicles be able to run on BS4-grade fuel?

Again, petrol powered car owners don’t have to worry as the chemical composition of BS4-grade petrol and BS6-grade petrol is almost similar. However, if you use BS4-grade diesel in a car that is compliant to BS6 norms, it will undergo serious damage.

BS6 diesel engines are designed with very sophisticated electronics like a re-developed exhaust system, Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). The high sulphur content in BS4 diesel will increase the emission drastically and cause serious damage to the fuel delivery system.

The high amount of sulphur will also clog the fuel filter and catalytic converter, which will affect the fuel economy of diesel cars. Thus, it will be prudent not to use BS4-grade fuel in BS6 compliant vehicles.

Is it better to buy last year car model?

While many buyers think a lower price on last year's model is a great thing -- especially if the model hasn't been updated for the new year -- they often forget about resale value. Since a leftover car is already a model year old, it's automatically worth less than a car from the latest model year.

Can we use car after 15 years?

The Government has till date not formulated any uniform policy for such vehicles which are now 15 years old. Vehicle owners will have option to transfer / sell their vehicle in other neighboring state provided their RC is not expired, as RTO shall not give NOC once the period of 15 years of registration is complete.