Bharat Stage IV norms mandatory across all vehicles by 2017

The Indian government has stated that all vehicles will need to comply with Bharat Stage - IV norms by 2017.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has announced that all vehicles, two wheelers, three wheelers and four wheelers have to comply with BS-IV norms by April 2017.

The ministry has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 which now states that all new manufactured vehicles which include two, three and four wheelers have to comply with BS-IV norms within the time frame of April 1, 2017 nation wide. The rule earlier stated that only four wheeler vehicles had to meet the norms by the specified date. The government has also stated that it does not propose to advance the deadline of these emission norms.

After consultation with the Ministry of Petroleum and National Gas, The Department of Heavy Industry and the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will now introduce BS-IV fuel norms across the country by April 1, 2020.

The government has also provided 30 days’ time, inviting the citizens of India to provide suggestions or comments on the notification before the amendment is finalized.

Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of state for Road Transport and Highways has issued a statement in Lok Sabha in regards to the amendment. The statement from the ministry comes at at time when Government of India is tackling the rise of pollution levels and deteriorating air quality of the nation.