Most of the emission norms in India follow standards implemented in Europe. But the question is are they adequate for India and do they address India’s needs? Speaking at Autocar Professional’s virtual conference, the ‘Meeting Emission Challenges’, Naresh Phansalkar, Director Global, CTOH Engineering, Clean Air, Tenneco said, “cost, quality and performance are the key factors when we are considering technological innovation. We need to adapt European solutions to Indian condition.”

India, which is home to about 14 of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities has been looking to improve its air quality quotient and implement stricter automotive emission norms. The leapfrogging to BS VI within a short timeframe is perhaps one of the steps in that direction.

According to Phansalkar, India does not need to jump directly to BS VII emission norms following Europe or other countries and instead take intermediate steps including adoption of hybrids, plug-in, pure electric amongst others to reach a level which can be equivalent to it.

However, he highlighted the need for standardisation of regulations globally, "Different norms in India and elsewhere globally are a challenge. It means we cannot have one aftermarket solution and decidedly puts a strain on the system. That said, we can have RDE and CAFE norms adapted to India."

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