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Mahesh

18/11/24 11:02 AM IST

BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers

In News
  • The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage III came into effect.
  • Under it, a ban has been imposed on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in the National Capital Region (NCR).
BS emissions standards
  • The BS — or Bharat Stage — emission standards are norms instituted by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.
  • India first introduced emission norms in 1991 and tightened them in 1996, when most vehicle manufacturers had to incorporate technology upgrades like catalytic converters to cut exhaust emissions.
  • Fuel specifications based on environmental considerations were notified first in April 1996 and were to be implemented by 2000.
  • India was following the European (Euro) emission norms, though with a time lag of five years as they were introduced a few years after the Euro ones.
  • Following a landmark Supreme Court order of April 1999, the Centre notified Bharat Stage-I (BIS 2000) and Bharat Stage-II norms, broadly equivalent to Euro I and Euro II respectively.
  • BS-II was for the NCR and other metros; BS-I was for the rest of India.
  • After subsequent progressions up to BS-IV over the years, the Central government in 2016 announced the country would skip the BS-V norms and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.
  • The intermediate BS-V standard was originally scheduled for 2019 but was leapfrogged because of increasing air pollution levels in many parts of India.
  • It is now mandated for all new cars from the adoption of new norms in 2020.
BS-IV V/s BS-VI
  • The main difference between the BS-IV and the BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur.
  • Greater limitations have been placed on the level of pollutants allowed under the latter.
  • The BS-VI fuel was estimated to bring around an 80 per cent reduction of sulphur, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm.
  • Analysts estimated that the emission of NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars would be reduced by nearly 70 per cent and 25 per cent from cars with petrol engines.
  • The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that short-term exposure to high levels of nitrous oxide can aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma, and lead to other problems such as coughing or difficulty in breathing.
  • Long-term exposure may also contribute to the development of asthma and could increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.
  • Also, gaseous sulphur oxides can harm trees and plants at high concentrations, by damaging foliage and decreasing growth.
Source- Indian Express

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