Bharat Stage VI: India leapfrogs today and it is no Fool’s day  

Amid the gloom and doom of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, there is also a reason for cheer and celebration in India today. India is now in the unparalleled rank of being the only country in the world to have side stepped Bharat Stage V (BS V) emissions standards to leapfrog directly from BS IV to BS VI emissions standards.

All new vehicles to be sold from April 1, 2020 onwards will comply with the new standards, except the small window of relaxation granted by the Supreme Court under the current pandemic circumstances. The window allows industry to sell only 10 per cent of their older BS IV stock by May 31, 2020.

This leapfrog has also been accomplished within the swiftest possible time. After meeting BS IV standards nation-wide (some big cities had moved earlier in 2010), the September 2017 Notification from the Union government allowed only three years to the automobile industry and refineries to achieve this.

With this masterstroke, the Indian government not only overruled all objections but also reversed its own roadmap of delaying the timeline to 2026.

The public health imperative of this move was well-established by the Supreme Court ruling of October 24, 2018, that had additionally denied any extra time for this transition. It upheld: “If there is a conflict between health and wealth, obviously, health will have to be given precedence... The larger public interest has to outweigh the much smaller pecuniary interest of the industry.” 

Health benefit of this fuel and emissions standard roadmap as estimated by the International Council on Clean Transportaion shows this can avoid 280,000 cumulative premature deaths in India by 2030.

All Indians need to understand what this big leap is all about.

Massive cut in emissions and tough benchmark for diesel: New-generation vehicles will now be significantly cleaner than the BS IV vehicles. Particulate matter limit for different segments of diesel cars will be 82 to 93 per cent lower than the BS IV level. Nitrogen oxide emissions limit will be 68 per cent lower.

Similarly, particulate limits for trucks and buses will be 50-67 per cent lower than BS IV level.  Even though the inherent gap between limits for petrol and diesel car emissions will remain, the gap will narrow down substantially. Diesel norms are becoming so stringent and expensive to meet that reportedly over 40 cars and SUVs will be phased out from the market. Small diesel cars will be more widely hit.

Fuelling change with clean fuels: Even though the maximum emissions benefits come from combined introduction of BS VI fuels and vehicle technology, drastic cut in fuel sulphur to 10 ppm will also reduce particulates and sulphur dioxide emissions (harmful ingredient of smog and cause of sulphate particles) from all on-road vehicles to some extent. Existing vehicles will perform better and excessive engine wear, deposits and corrosion will reduce.

Counting particle numbers vs only weighing the particle mass emissions: For testing of vehicles for certification, invisible tiny particles in the exhaust will be counted as opposed to the current practice of only weighing mass of particles. This will ensure use of the most effective diesel particulate filter, with over 95 per cent efficiency to trap toxic particles.

Dramatic advancement in diesel emissions control systems: The most significant change will be in diesel emissions control systems. India has not seen anything like this before. These include advanced particulate filters for particulate control; and lead NOx traps, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and exhaust gas recirculation for NOx control. These are hugely sensitive and need high level of maintenance.

First-ever move to measure real world emissions to prevent dieselgate: As opposed to the current practice of only measuring mass emissions in the laboratory, vehicles will also be driven on roads fitted with portable emissions monitors to measure emissions in real world conditions following a certain driving pattern.

Real emissions will be measured under the conditions of congested city roads, highways and rural roads. This aligns with the European practice to prevent Dieselgate and Volkswagen kind of scandals. Real world testing has been introduced for certification now. From 2023 onwards, this test will also be carried out on selected samples after vehicles are sold.

Two-wheeler standards to become significantly more stringent: Requirements for two wheelers are becoming almost as exacting as cars. For the first time, NOx and hydrocarbon emissions will be regulated separately, as opposed to their combined testing.

Evaporative emissions standards already in place for four wheelers, will apply to two wheelers as well to measure and control fuel vapours from engines. On- board diagnostic systems to sense and police any malfunction in the vehicles will be introduced. This is a final death knell for mechanical carburetors; only electronic injections will prevail.

In-service compliance regulations and on-road performance checks: This is the most dramatic transition. Currently, there are no checks on mass emissions from vehicles after they are certified and sold.

But now, in-service regulations will require benchmarks for performance of vehicles over their useful life on-road. For this, conformity factor will be introduced. Real world emissions checks on-road will happen post-2023.

The durability requirement of emissions control systems has been specified for a minimum distance range of 160,000 km, that is substantially higher than the current requirement. Specifications for on-board diagnostic system that records details of vehicle performance are more stringent.

Preparing for post-2023 reforms: While India has aligned with most of the reform packages of Europe introduced to control dieselgate after the introduction of basic Euro VI in Europe in 2014, there are still some gaps.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is amending technical regulations for the next package of reforms to be introduced from 2023 onwards. Some of these include deciding the confirmatory factor for in-service compliance, market surveillance and independent verification testing of in-use vehicles by regulatory authorities, adoption of more stringent driving cycle for emissions testing (world not to exceed cycle), public disclosure of emissions data by the manufacturers on publicly accessible websites, and on-board fuel consumption meters among others.  

Need ground level preparedness for on-road emissions check: The BS VI vehicle is a new animal in town. State transport departments need to upgrade on-road emissions surveillance.  Even though Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate norms — the only on-road emissions checking system currently — have been tightened for BS VI vehicles, PUC is no longer relevant for diesel vehicles.

Only smoke density test is possible in diesel vehicles under PUC. But BS VI diesel vehicles are not expected to have visible smoke.

Cities will need a checklist of physical checks of emissions control equipment fitted by the manufacturer to check if these are missing or tampered with. Like Kolkata and the pilot programme in Delhi, cities need to begin remote sensing measurements for high level fleet screening. The transport ministry is amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules to allow its implementation. 

Making new generation NOx control systems work: Consumers should understand that big diesel vehicles will come fitted with semiconductor controlled rectifier in the exhaust system. This will require periodic filling of autograde urea tank as urea is sprayed on exhaust to neutralise NOx.

At Rs 40 per litres for autograde urea, refill will be needed after every 1,000 km in trucks depending on the pattern of usage. This will increase vulnerability to fraud and tampering, as global experience shows. People often try to disable these systems to avoid the recurring costs of refilling urea. This can lead to uncontrolled NOx emisisons.   

Set up extensive urea refilling infrastructure for the SCR systems and ensure quality control: Currently, oil companies are setting up autograde urea dispensing systems in their fuel retail outlets. Indian Oil Corporation and others have started the process.

But there are private players as well. This has led to concerns regarding the quality control of the product. Even though there are product standards (AUS 32 Quality requirements according to ISO 22241-1), this needs a proper certification system for the sellers of urea.

Need massive sensitisation of consumers — not be penny wise and pound foolish: People, especially bus and truck operators, need to understand the dangers of tampering with advanced and sophisticated emissions control systems.

For instance, if they do not use quality urea, it will lead to deposit formation in urea supply and dosing system, block injector nozzles, cause catalyst poisoning leading to permanent damage, loss of warranty system, etc. Also, replacement of any damaged emissions control system will cost a bomb. Need strong preventive maintenance.

This leapfrog builds confidence in clean air action.

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