The Indian government plans to expedite the introduction of Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emission standards from April 2020, without first switching to BS V norms. The decision was taken at a meeting attended by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete, and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, reports Autocar India. Following the meeting, Gadkari tweeted that a unanimous decision was taken "to leap-frog to BS VI directly from 01/04/2020".
Significance: Although there has yet to be a formal announcement confirming this report, Gadkari's remarks indicate that a decision on the controversial topic has been taken. The idea of bypassing BS V norms was vehemently opposed by automakers and trade associations when first floated last year. India follows emission norms based on European standards, with some changes. Currently, 50 cities in India follow BS IV emission standards, while BS III norms are applied in the rest of the country. The government announced last year that BS V standards would be introduced across the country in April 2019. However, the auto industry was of the view that introducing tighter standards in quick succession would be difficult as a result of long development and testing durations. Although not stated explicitly, the latest comments from Gadkari indicate that BS IV standards will be extended through to March 2020. If implemented by the government, the direct introduction of BS VI norms would be a big setback for automakers, which have made some headway in developing BS V-compliant solutions.
