Niti Aayog has outlined a comprehensive roadmap for decarbonising India’s transport sector, proposing a phased elimination of diesel vehicles and a sharper focus on cleaner mobility technologies as part of the country’s long-term net-zero strategy.
In a report released on Tuesday, the government think tank said the transition towards net-zero transport emissions by 2070 should begin with the gradual withdrawal of polluting diesel vehicles, alongside the adoption of lower-emission alternatives such as CNG, hybrid, and electric vehicles. The roadmap also underscores the need to tighten Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms to accelerate emissions reduction.
“The transition strategy should begin with the phased elimination of polluting diesel vehicles and the adoption of lower-emission technologies such as CNG, hybrids and electric vehicles,” the report stated.
According to Niti Aayog, the next phase of the transition will focus on expanding the use of biofuels, including the introduction of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), higher Bio-CNG blending, and hybrid FFV models, while electric vehicle adoption continues to scale up. The final phase envisages a complete shift towards zero-emission vehicles across the transport ecosystem.
The report highlighted that road transport currently relies heavily on fossil fuels, with petrol and diesel accounting for over 80 per cent of the sector’s energy consumption. It also cautioned that India’s ability to significantly reduce transport-related emissions will depend on the effective enforcement of stricter CAFE norms.
