India and Euro Norms

Emissions from ECVs, LEVs and ULEVs

The first piece of legislation in India was the Air Pollution Act in 1991. The permissible level of gaseous automobile exhaust emissions was tightened in 1996. India follows the European pattern for the emission norms. For commercial vehicles with diesel engines, the norms are based on the European legislation.
The Indian government has set up April 1, 2000 as the date to implement the next set of emission standards that will apply for all the vehicles manufactured on or after that date.

Pollutants	Limits for	Conformity of
	Type approval	Production
CO (g/kwh )	4.5	4.9
HC (g/kwh )	1.1	1.23
Nox (g/kwh)	8.0	9.0
PM (g/kwh) for engines
with power exceeding85 KW	0.36	0.4
PM (g/kwh) for engines
with power not exceeding85 KW	0.36	0.4

The new vehicles brought by the Indian auto industry has brought down emission levels production by as much as 80% as compared to 1989, but it is the older, already in use vehicles which are the main culprits.

The industry has acquired, developed, and adapted new technology, and reengineered itself to produce increasingly cleaner vehicles - Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) in 1996, and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) by 2000.

The total emission has come down from 360 tonnes per day to 70 tonnes per day. During the control period, new vehicle emissions from Emission Control Vehicles (ECV), Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) are outlined below.

Emissions from ECVs LEVs and ULEVs

Year	Type of vehicle	No. of annual sales in millions	Emissions
1989	ECV	1.8	360
1996	LEV	3.5	220
2000	ULEV	5.5	70

The imposition of Euro Norms is a must if India is to be saved from the hazards of a grossly polluted environment. A petrol driven four wheeler which adheres to Euro Norms II, depending on its engine capacity, would emit 2-3 times less carbon monoxide and 3-4 less hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides than the currently stipulated levels. The diesel version of the same, depending on the gross vehicle weight, would be required to meet emission norms that compared to present levels, are 1.2-2 times stricter for carbon monoxide and double this value for nitrogen oxides (NOx). Notably, for the first time in India, emission norms would also be set for particulate matter.