The Centre on Wednesday said Delhi will have to implement the highest emission standards Bharat Stage VI by April 2018. The move is being seen as an effort to fight dangerous pollution levels in the NCR.

Oil firms have been asked to look into whether this can be extended to other parts of the National Capital Region from April 1, 2019, the Petroleum Ministry said in a release.

India currently follows the Bharat Stage IV norms, which came into force in April this year. In January 2016, soon after the Paris climate change conference, the government decided it would move directly to Bharat Stage VI from 2020, skipping the Bharat Stage V. Before the decision, BS VI was scheduled to come into force only in 2024.

Europe already uses the Euro VI emission norms, while much of India was still covered by BS III norms until the introduction of BS IV this year.