- The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has exempted the armoured and other specialised vehicles of Indian armed forces and paramilitary forces from the new stringent vehicular emission norms (BS-VI) which are set to take effect from 1st April,2020.
- The Ministry has also granted exemption to these vehicles from BS-IV compliance.
- The exemption has been granted because these vehicles operate in remote and inhospitable terrains with most challenging operational and environmental conditions.
- Due to security challenges and requirements of specialized operations, the development of suitable engine compliant with the above norms would require considerable time.
- The Bharat Stage(BS) standards are standards instituted by the Indian government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.The norms were introduced in 2000.
- The main difference between BS-IV and BS-VI (Which is comparable to Euro 6) is in the amount of sulphur in the fuel.BS-VI fuel is estimated to bring around an 80% reduction in sulphur content –from 50 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm.
- According to analysts,Nitrogen Oxide(NOx) emissions from diesel cars are expected to come down by nearly 70% and from cars with petrol engines by 25% after the implementation of BS-VI fuel.
