The Central government has announced that BS VI emission norms will be in effect on April 1, 2020 and will include all two wheelers, three wheelers, four-wheelers and above. It had announced last year that it would make a jump directly from BS IV norms to BS VI norms skipping BSV regulations altogether.
The BS IV norms were put in place in 2010 and its full implementation for all vehicles will take place on April 1, 2017. Originally, the BS5 norms were meant to be implemented in the period 2020-2021 and then BS6 in 2024. However, with the government making it official, the BS5 norms will be skipped altogether in favour of advancement to BS6 norms.
Obviously the biggest change will be the emissions which will be significantly lower than the current levels thanks to the stricter norms. This will make the air more breathable and make being outside a much nicer experience than it is right now.
However, there is a catch to this. SIAM data shows that, the number vehicles sold across all segments and body shapes has been steadily increasing over the last seven years with just one major dip in the period 2011-2012 when global oil prices were at one of their highest ever. At the current rate, it seems almost likely that we will once again achieve a high growth rate by 2020 adding even more pressure on an already clogged infrastructure.
The 2016 budget which was announced today has listed out funds of Rs 1 lakh crore for road construction. It has also detailed the implementation of an infrastructure cess of various per cent ages (dependent on the vehicle and engine). This should hopefully let our infrastructure grown on par with our vehicle purchase ambitions.
