Bharat Stage norms

The first Indian emission regulations were idle emission limits which became effective in 1989. These idle emission regulations were soon replaced by mass emission limits for both petrol (1991) and diesel (1992) vehicles, which were gradually tightened during the 1990’s. Since the year 2000, India started adopting European emission and fuel regulations for four-wheeled light-duty and for heavy-dc. Indian own emission regulations still apply to two- and three-wheeled vehicles.
Current requirement is that all transport vehicles carry a fitness certificate that is renewed each year after the first two years of new vehicle registration.
On October 6, 2003, the National Auto Fuel Policy has been announced, which envisages a phased program for introducing Euro 2 - 4 emission and fuel regulations by 2010.

 

Comparison between Bharat Stage and Euro norms

The Bharat Stage norms have been styled to suit specific needs and demands of Indian conditions. The differences lie essentially in environmental and geographical needs, even though the emission standards are exactly the same.
For instance, Euro-III is tested at sub-zero temperatures in European countries. In India, where the average annual temperature ranges between 24 and 28 degree Celsius, the test is done away with.
Another major distinction is in the maximum speed at which the vehicle is tested. A speed of 90 kmph is stipulated for BS-III, whereas it is 120 kmph for Euro-III, keeping emission limits the same in both cases.
In addition to limits, test procedure has certain finer points too. For instance, the mass emission test measurements done in g/km on a chassis dynamometer requires a loading of 100 kg weight in addition to unloaded car weight in Europe. In India, BS-III norms require an extra loading of 150 kg weight to achieve the desired inertia weight mainly due to road conditions here


 

OVERVIEW OF THE EMISSION NORMS IN INDIA

• 1991 - Idle CO Limits for Gasoline Vehicles and Free Acceleration Smoke for Diesel Vehicles, Mass Emission Norms for Gasoline Vehicles.
  
  
• 1992 - Mass Emission Norms for Diesel Vehicles.
  
  
• 1996 - Revision of Mass Emission Norms for Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles, mandatory fitment of Catalytic Converter for Cars in Metros on Unleaded Gasoline.
  
  
• 1998 - Cold Start Norms Introduced.
  
  
• 2000 - India 2000 (Eq. to Euro I) Norms, Modified IDC (Indian Driving Cycle), Bharat Stage II Norms for Delhi.
  
  
• 2001 - Bharat Stage II (Eq. to Euro II) Norms for All Metros, Emission Norms for CNG & LPG Vehicles.
  
  
• 2003 - Bharat Stage II (Eq. to Euro II) Norms for 11 major cities.
  
  
• 2005 - From 1st April Bharat Stage III (Eq. to Euro III) Norms for 11 major cities.
  
  
• 2010 - Bharat Stage III Emission Norms for 4-wheelers for entire country whereas Bharat Stage - IV (Eq. to Euro IV) for 11 major cities. 

   

   

  Indian Emission Standards (4-Wheel Vehicles)
  

  Standard	Reference	Date	Region
  India 2000	Euro 1	2000	Nationwide
  Bharat Stage II	Euro 2	2001	NCR*, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai
  		2003.04	NCR*, 10 Cities †
  		2005.04	Nationwide
  Bharat Stage III	Euro 3	2005.04	NCR*, 10 Cities †
  		2010.04	Nationwide
  Bharat Stage IV	Euro 4	2010.04	NCR*, 10 Cities †
  * National Capital Region (Delhi) † Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur and Agra

   

 Current news-----
The earlier deadline was April 1, and is now extended to July 1 to convert their models to Bharat Stage 3 for sale in 13 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. For sale in the rest of the country, auto makers would now have time until October 1 to switch their two-wheelers to BS 3. The move has given some relief to Hero Honda, which sells more than one million Splendors (Splendour is on BS 2) in a year, constituting 25 per cent of the company`s total annual sales. The brand also accounts for 13 per cent of the total domestic sales of motorcycles.