· Emission norms · BS-VII · Draft rules
BS-VII for Cars: What MoRTH’s Draft Changes, and What It Keeps the Same
Written and checked byRamanathan Virli· Roads & Infrastructure
Key points
- A draft, not law: G.S.R. 880(E), dated 12 October 2026 and published in the Gazette on 13 October, with thirty days for objections.
- It covers category M1 vehicles (passenger cars) manufactured on or after 1 April 2029, for all models.
- The exhaust limits it proposes match the BS-VI limits that apply under the WLTP test cycle from 1 April 2027.
- New are brake-particle limits from 1 April 2031: 3 mg/km for pure electric cars and 7 mg/km for every other powertrain.
- Electric cars and plug-in hybrids would have to keep 75% of their battery energy for 5 years or 1,00,000 km, and 67% for up to 8 years or 1,60,000 km.
- A car would have to meet the limits for 1,60,000 km or 8 years, and then into an additional lifetime up to 2,00,000 km or 10 years.
What the draft is
On 12 October 2026 the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways published draft rules, G.S.R. 880(E), that would insert a new sub-rule (23) into Rule 115 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. Rule 115 sets the emission standards. The new sub-rule sets out Bharat Stage VII (BS-VII) for category M1 vehicles, the passenger-car category.
Objections and suggestions can be sent to the Additional Secretary (MVL, Transport & Road Safety) at the ministry, or to comments-morth@gov.in, within thirty days of the Gazette being made available to the public. The ministry will then consider them before it notifies final rules.
The tailpipe limits do not tighten
The headline expectation of a new “Bharat Stage” is lower exhaust limits. For cars, this draft does not set any. Its Table 1 limits are identical to those already notified for BS-VI under the WLTP test cycle by the Central Motor Vehicles (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 112(E)), which apply to cars made from 1 April 2027.
- Under BS-VI with WLTP, the particulate limits for petrol cars apply only to direct-injection engines. The BS-VII limit table has no such footnote, and its test-requirement table calls for particulate mass and number tests on petrol vehicles.
- For road testing (Real Driving Emissions, using a portable measurement system) during type approval, the draft sets a conformity factor of 1.0 for NOx and particle number from 1 April 2030. CO must be measured and recorded.
| Pollutant (mg/km unless stated) | BS-VI, WLTP (from 1 April 2027) | BS-VII draft (from 1 April 2029) |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon monoxide (CO): petrol / diesel | 1,000 / 500 | 1,000 / 500 |
| Total hydrocarbons (THC): petrol | 100 | 100 |
| Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC): petrol | 68 | 68 |
| Oxides of nitrogen (NOx): petrol / diesel | 60 / 80 | 60 / 80 |
| THC + NOx: diesel | 170 | 170 |
| Particulate matter (PM): petrol / diesel | 4.5 / 4.5 | 4.5 / 4.5 |
| Particle number (PN, per km): petrol / diesel | 6 × 10¹¹ / 6 × 10¹¹ | 6 × 10¹¹ / 6 × 10¹¹ |
| Evaporative emissions (g per test) | 2.0 (petrol) | 1.5 |
What BS-VII adds
The draft is mainly about pollution that does not come out of the exhaust, and about whether a car stays clean as it ages. The dates below are taken from the draft’s own tables and notes.
| From | Proposed requirement |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2029 | BS-VII exhaust and evaporative limits; battery-durability minimums for electric cars and plug-in hybrids |
| 1 April 2030 | Real Driving Emissions testing at type approval with a conformity factor of 1.0; fuel- and energy-consumption monitoring (OBFCM-I) data available on the vehicle port |
| 1 April 2031 | Brake particle (PM10) limits: 3 mg/km for pure electric cars; 7 mg/km for hybrids, fuel-cell and combustion-engine cars. Tyre-abrasion limits for C1 tyres, with the values to be notified separately |
| 1 April 2032 | On-board monitoring (OBM) data on the diagnostic port; OBFCM-II data available over the air |
| 1 April 2035 | Brake particle-number limits, with the values to be notified separately |
Battery durability for electric cars
For the first time, the draft would set a minimum performance requirement for traction batteries in cars that can be plugged in: pure electric vehicles and off-vehicle-charging hybrids.
- A range-based requirement is also listed, but all its values are marked “to be notified separately”.
- A car would need State-of-Health monitors for the battery, and these would be checked during in-service conformity testing.
| Vehicle age or distance | Minimum battery energy retained |
|---|---|
| Start of life to 5 years or 1,00,000 km, whichever comes first | 75% |
| Beyond that, up to 8 years or 1,60,000 km, whichever comes first | 67% |
| Additional lifetime | To be notified separately |
Cars must stay clean for longer
In-service conformity, the checking of cars already sold, would apply for the vehicle’s whole lifetime. The draft defines a main lifetime of up to 1,60,000 km or 8 years, whichever comes first. An additional lifetime then runs up to 2,00,000 km or 10 years, with a durability multiplier of 1.2 for gaseous pollutants.
The draft also requires an on-board monitoring system that can detect when NOx or particulate emissions exceed 2.5 times the relevant limit. Cars would also need on-board monitoring of real-world fuel and electric-energy consumption.
Other provisions worth knowing
- An Environmental Vehicle Passport would come with every car, alongside the certificate of conformity. Owners would also get access to current information on fuel consumption, battery health and emissions, including an in-vehicle display.
- Cars must be designed to resist tampering with fuel injection, the engine control unit, traction batteries, the odometer, pollution-control devices and the diagnostic and monitoring systems.
- A car with a combustion engine and geofencing technology could be approved as “BS-VII-G”. The geofencing would be demonstrated at type approval and verified over the car’s life.
- The limits would apply across a wide range of fuels, including E20 petrol, flex-fuel blends up to E100 and M100, CNG and biomethane, LPG, hydrogen and biodiesel blends.
What it means if you are buying a car
The draft applies to cars manufactured on or after 1 April 2029. It says nothing about cars already on the road, and no new tailpipe limit would apply to them. The nearer change is the 1 April 2027 move to the WLTP test cycle for BS-VI, which is already final. For drivers, the new things in BS-VII are battery-health information and the Environmental Vehicle Passport.