Author: Satish Mishra
India’s electric commercial vehicle sector has reached a moment of inflection. After years of pilots and early-adopter risk-taking, national programmes, notably FAME-II, PM E-DRIVE and PM E-Bus initiatives, have created tangible momentum. Grants under FAME-II supported 6,862 e-buses; PM E-DRIVE extends support to 14,028 e-buses and 5,643 e-trucks; and some 13,800 e-buses have already been allocated for phased deployment in major cities. Yet momentum alone will not deliver the scale required to decarbonise road freight and bus transport. To convert this promising foundation into a mass transition, policies must now address three stubborn bottlenecks: affordable finance, skilled manpower and easier…
On 25 March 2026, the Cabinet approved India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2031–2035. Under this, India commits to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 47 per cent by 2035 from 2005 levels. It also aspires to achieve 60 per cent of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources by 2035. For a nation with a population of 140 crore, aspiring to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047, these goals are arguably far-fetched. Nonetheless, India’s success on the climate front depends on managing two distinct challenges: waste and critical minerals. Undeniably, the government has introduced several…
