BS norms

The Bharat Stage norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate the emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles.
As the stage goes up, the control on emissions becomes stricter.
In India, the BS-IV norm has been in force since April, 2017. In 2016, the Centre had announced that India would skip the BS-V norms and adopt BS-VI by 2020.
These norms are based on similar norms in Europe called Euro 4 and Euro 6.

A vital difference between BS6 and the BS4 fuel is that the BS6 fuel contains 5 times fewer sulphur traces (10 parts per million) compared to BS4 (50 ppm).
NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) level will be brought down by a staggering 70% for Diesel engine and 25% for Petrol Engines.
The BS6 brings along a plethora of changes, most significant being the mandatory OBD (Onboard Diagnostics) for all vehicles. OBD device informs the vehicle owner or the repair technician how efficient the systems in the vehicle are.
RDE (Real Driving Emission) will be introduced for the first time that will measure the vehicle’s emission in real-world conditions against simulated conditions.
Introduction of DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) for Diesel engines.
So a transition from BS4 to BS6 requires modification both in the fuel and in the vehicle engine.

In March 2020, the Supreme Court extended the March 31, 2020 deadline for the sale and registration of BS-IV vehicles because of the extraordinary situation arising out of the COVID-19 lockdown and to provide relief to automobile dealers.
The apex court allowed sale of 10% of the unsold stock of BS IV vehicles within 10 days of the end of the lockdown, except in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Dealers in Delhi-NCR were denied the relief owing to the high levels of the pollution in the national capital.

The Supreme Court barred the sale and registration of BS IV vehicles citing misuse of its earlier order allowing sale of 10% of the unsold stock.
The court also ordered the Centre to collect details on how many of them were sold and registered after the national lockdown was lifted.

Reference:

https://www.thehindu.com/business/sc-bars-sale-registration-of-bs-iv-vehicles/article31835998.ece

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