India Unveils Zero Emission Truck Policy for Net-Zero Goals

New Delhi- The government has launched a new policy to promote the usage of zero emission trucks (ZETs) in India as part of the country's efforts to achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.

The policy advisory document, titled "Bharat Zero Emission Trucking (ZET) Policy Advisory," was launched by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, New Delhi. The document was formulated keeping in mind the need to create an enabling techno-socio-economic ecosystem for the wider adoption of ZETs by providing incentives, regulations, infrastructure, and financial assistance to promote their adoption.

The Bharat ZET Policy Advisory document outlines a comprehensive set of 30 policy interventions designed to accelerate ZET adoption in India and reach 100% ZET sales penetration by 2050. The interventions are categorized into five key areas: incentives, regulations, infrastructure, business and financing, and stakeholder-centric initiatives.

Each policy intervention has been assigned a nodal agency responsible for implementation, a list of key stakeholders, its impact on the sector, and a methodology of policy formulation. The government plans to refine the policy interventions further by conducting extensive stakeholder consultations, including cost-benefit and impact analyses.

The development of this advisory document was guided by a Policy Advisory Panel (PAP) constituted by the Office of the PSA. The PAP, chaired by Dr. Preeti Banzal, Adviser, Office of PSA, and vice-chaired by Prof. Karthick Athmanathan, PSA Fellow, is expected to lay the foundation for the growth of a sustainable ecosystem for ZET adoption in India.