Do diesel vehicles really cause pollution? Tata told the truth

Recently, discussions about increasing tax on diesel vehicles or discontinuing them in the long term made a lot of headlines. Along with this, the debate also started that diesel vehicles cause more pollution. But what is its reality? Let us know...

How much truth is there in the statement that diesel vehicles cause more pollution? Recently, when the government talked about increasing the tax on diesel vehicles, or the news of discontinuing diesel vehicles in the long term came into the headlines, then the issue again came to the fore whether diesel vehicles really cause more pollution. Let us understand this entire multiplication…

At present in India, it is necessary for vehicles to follow BS-6 emission standard. BS-6 is similar to the Euro-6 standard adopted for European vehicles. Today, BS-6 emission standard is considered the safest for vehicles. It sets limits on the gases and pollutants released along with smoke from petrol and diesel engines.

What are BS-6 Norms?

According to BS-6 standard, petrol engine can release only 1000 mg carbon oxide, 100 mg hydro carbon, 60 mg nitrogen oxide and 4.5 mg particulate matter (PM) while traveling a distance of one kilometer. Earlier, the emission standard BS-4 was applicable in the country. The parameters for petrol engines were almost the same, only the limit of nitrogen oxide was 80 mg per kilometer. Whereas there was no fixed standard for particulate matter.

Similarly, diesel engines of BS-6 standard can release 500 mg of carbon oxide when running one kilometer like BS-4. While the limit of hydrocarbon + nitrogen oxide has been reduced from 300 to 170 mg, the limit of nitrogen oxide has been reduced from 250 to 80 mg and the limit of particulate matter has been reduced from 25 to 4.5 mg.

Tata official said this

Recently when the new facelift version of Tata Nexon was launched. Then Mohan Savarkar, Chief Product Officer of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, was asked about the government's decision to impose tax on diesel vehicles and their closure in future. On this he told  'The auto industry follows every rule of the government. If in future the government makes any policy regarding diesel vehicles, then being an auto company we will also follow it. Anyway, change in any sector does not come suddenly, it has many phases. Anyway, Tata Motors is pursuing the target of Net Zero by 2040.”

Meanwhile, on the matter of diesel vehicles causing more pollution, he said that the emission standards for petrol and diesel vehicles in BS-6 are quite similar. At the same time, the difference between them is very less.

It is worth noting that the level of particulate matter in the air is considered the most dangerous for human health. In BS-6 standards, equality has been kept for petrol and diesel engines.