India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with its road network forming the backbone of its transport system. Indian roads handle around 80 per cent of passenger traffic and 70 per cent of freight traffic. While rapid road infrastructure development is crucial for fuelling this growth, it also presents a challenge that requires urgent attention – the environmental impact of road transportation. It is essential to maintain a balance between road development and environmental conservation to effectively reduce the carbon footprint.
Overcoming the challenges in green mobility adoption
The transport sector accounts for around 12 per cent of the country’s total CO2 emissions, with around 90 per cent coming from road transport alone. Additionally, it is a major source of urban air pollution. At present, 35 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities are located in India, and road transport alone is estimated to contribute 20-30 per cent of total urban air pollution. Within the transport sector, medium-and heavy-duty trucks (MHDTs) contribute 44 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, despite accounting for only a 3 per cent share of total vehicular traffic.
To address these concerns, the government is promoting the adoption of alternative fuels and cleaner technologies such as electric, hydrogen and flex-fuel vehicles. However, their uptake is still at a nascent stage compared to conventional fuels such as petrol and diesel. To enable a smooth transition towards low-carbon road transportation, the use of transitional fuels such as biofuels, natural gas and biogas is being promoted. The government has launched various schemes and policies to incentivise adoption, promote manufacturing and address infrastructural bottlenecks for these technologies. Given the strong policy support and evolving consumer preferences, the transport sector holds immense potential to drive India’s transition towards net zero emissions by 2070.
Driving the shift with fiscal incentives and policy levers
The key drivers of the ongoing green mobility expansion are supportive government policies and targeted investment plans. Over the years, the government has introduced several incentive schemes to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME-I) scheme (April 2015-March 2019), FAME-II scheme (April 2019-March 2024) and the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (April 2024-September 2024), the focus has been on the adoption of electric two-wheelers (e-2Ws), e-3Ws and e-buses. In 2020-21, 0.14 million total EV registrations were recorded, which surged to around 1.97 million in 2024-25, recording a 14-fold growth. In 2024-25, e-2Ws and passenger e-3Ws accounted for around 50 per cent and 36 per cent of total EV registrations respectively.
However, the truck segment, which carries most of the freight traffic, has remained absent from this growth story. In 2024, around 834,578 trucks were sold in India, of which only 6,220 were electric. Moreover, nearly 95 per cent of these were under the 3.5 tonne category, used mainly for short-haul freight, whereas one-third of CO2 emissions are contributed by MHDTs used for long-haul freight.
In September 2024, the Ministry of Heavy Industries launched the PM-Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme with an outlay of Rs 109 billion. This scheme’s scope has been expanded to include electric trucks, with an outlay of Rs 5 billion to support over 5,600 electric trucks, an essential step towards green trucking. Under this scheme, an e-MHDT can receive a maximum incentive of up to Rs 0.96 million, based on its gross vehicle weight.
However, incentives alone address only part of this challenge, as charging infrastructure for EVs is yet to mature. Under PM E-DRIVE, Rs 20 billion has been allocated to set up over 72,300 public EV charging and battery swapping stations on highways, public transport hubs, commercial complexes and high-traffic locations such as terminals and rest locations. Moreover, e-MHDTs have large batteries ranging from 100 kWh to 300 kWh, requiring high-power chargers to reduce downtime and remain economically viable. Availability of such stations along freight corridors, terminals and rest locations will be essential for e-MHDT adoption. In January 2025, the Ministry of Power released comprehensive new guidelines for both public charging stations and battery swapping infrastructure. These guidelines establish standards for safety, interoperability and adoption of business models such as battery-as-a-service.
Under the National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) pilot programme, about 5,500 km of NHs are planned to be upgraded to e-highways. In April 2025, NHEV acquired a 4.7 acre land parcel in Tirunelveli for the development of an EV charging station. Following this, in October 2025, India’s first commercial electric truck battery swapping-cum-charging station was inaugurated at Delhi International Cargo Terminal Private Limited in Sonipat district, Haryana. In the same month, BillionE and Handalco launched India’s first heavy-duty electric freight corridor in Gujarat spanning 160 km, connecting Dahej and Asoj. Under this partnership, they will launch 15 electric trucks, with 10 already deployed for zero-emission freight movement.
Fuelling the future with green hydrogen
While electrification is leading India’s clean mobility transition, the government is also exploring hydrogen as an alternative solution for decarbonising road transport. Hydrogen offers high energy density and faster refuelling compared to batteries, making it ideal for long-haul freight and heavy-duty transport.
As of September 2025, India has launched large-scale hydrogen truck trials with a budgetary allocation of Rs 5 billion to Rs 6 billion to five companies across 10 routes, with 37 vehicles currently being tested. Moreover, nine hydrogen fuelling stations will be developed on trial corridors serving as India’s first hydrogen highways. The trial run will be conducted for two years across key routes including Greater Noida, Delhi, Agra, Bhubaneswar, Konark, Puri, Vadodara, Surat, Sahibabad, Faridabad, Pune, Mumbai, Jamshedpur, Kalinga, Thiruvananthapuram, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Visakhapatnam, which will link industry clusters, ports and freight corridors where hydrogen deployment can make an immediate impact.
Strategic role of biofuels and natural gas
While electric and hydrogen vehicles drive the long-term decarbonisation effort, the government is promoting biofuels and natural gas as transitional fuels for transportation to reduce emissions in the near term. In July 2025, India achieved the milestone of 20 per cent ethanol blending with petrol five years ahead of the initial target of 2030. Further, the government plans to gradually scale to higher blends in a phased manner. Indian OEMs have started rolling out prototypes of flex-fuel vehicles, which are compatible with up to 85 per cent ethanol blends.
In addition, the government is promoting compressed biogas (CBG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), alongside compressed natural gas (CNG), which has already seen growing adoption. In 2024-25, a total of 0.84 million CNG cars were sold, accounting for around 19 per cent of total passenger vehicles, up from 6.3 per cent in 2019-20. This growth has been supported by the steady development of CNG stations across the country. The government has now mandated CBG blending with CNG to achieve the target of 5 per cent CBG blending by 2028-29.
LNG is emerging as a game changer for long-haul trucking, while CNG is suitable for intercity movement. As of August 2025, the government is looking to make Indian highways LNG ready. LNG stations are being set up across the Golden Quadrilateral, NHs, East-West Highway, North-South Highway and major mining clusters in India. So far, around 30 LNG retail stations have been set up by private and public entities. With this infrastructure push, the LNG truck fleet size is expected to grow from around 700 today to 0.2 million by 2040.
The way forward
As per industry estimates, nearly 17 million trucks are expected to run on Indian roads by 2050. Without effective decarbonisation measures, CO2 emissions from road transport could double by then. Continued dependence on conventional fuels will further inflate India’s fuel import bill. Addressing these issues requires strict adherence to focused policy measures such as PM E-DRIVE and production-linked incentive schemes. Strengthening compliance frameworks, including corporate average fuel efficiency norms, will be essential to accelerate the shift towards cleaner mobility. Moreover, enabling measures such as the government’s plan to offer toll exemptions for electric trucks to offset their additional battery weight highlights positive steps to support greater adoption.
Infrastructure readiness presents a parallel challenge. The benefits of EV adoption can be fully realised only if the electricity powering them is renewable. The roll-out of EV, hydrogen, LNG and CBG refuelling infrastructure along highways must keep pace with vehicle deployment to ensure operational viability and attract both investors and consumers. With continued policy support, stricter fuel-efficiency standards and rapid infrastructure development, India’s clean mobility transition can deliver far more than emissions reduction. It can lower logistics costs, enhance energy security and strengthen the country’s long-term economic competitiveness.
Bhavya Bhandari
