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The views of the Transport Secretary, Vijay Chibber, on vehicle emission norms have received support from Bosch Ltd, a leading global supplier of automotive components.
Chibber had said recently that switching from Bharat Stage IV straight to BS VI, leapfrogging an intermediate step, would not be feasible.
Bosch’s views, (expressed to BusinessLine a few weeks ago,) are pretty much the same. Friedrich Boecking, Regional President – Diesel Systems, Bosch India, has said that the progression to better emission standards ought to happen in measured phases, as was done in Europe. “If these phases are not followed, it can lead to severe safety and quality problems in the field, such as self-acceleration and engine damage,” Boecking said.
Change in emission legislation leads to change in technology. The technology should be tested and validated in India for the special road and driving conditions. “Since the technology for BS-VI is completely different, it needs separate sequential application and validation. A direct changeover to BS VI in a single step will not reduce the lead time in reality,” he said. Also, the sub-one-tonne vehicles are “unique to India” and today there is no commercial technology available to reach even BS V emission standards.
(India has been following BS IV norms for 13 major cities since April 2010; in the rest of the country BS III applies. The original plan was to introduce the next stage, BS V, from April 1, 2020 and to BS VI from 2024. However, a report of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas tabled in Parliament in May said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was considering switching over directly from BS IV to VI.
(Several vehicle manufacturers (Mahindra & Mahindra, for example) have said that such leapfrogging would be difficult.)
Bosch has introduced a product in India for bringing down emissions in trucks. The ‘Selective catalytic reduction’ technology reduces nitrogen oxides by making the exhaust fumes to react with liquid urea. The reaction turns nitrous oxides into “harmless steam and nitrogen”.
Fitting a BS-III vehicle with Bosch’s SCR product would result in 5 per cent fuel saving. A truck with long haul usage will get its cost paid back within nine months, Boecking said.
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