NITI Aayog Urges Electrification Of Key Freight Corridors For Cleaner Transport

NITI Aayog has called for strategic electrification of key freight corridors in India, noting that around 70 per cent of the country’s freight movement takes place by road. The policy think tank highlighted the need to accelerate the adoption of electric heavy-duty vehicles as part of India’s broader clean mobility and emissions-reduction goals.

Rajiv Gauba, Member, NITI Aayog, noted that only around 800 heavy-duty electric trucks were sold in 2025, highlighting the scale of the challenge in shifting freight transport away from conventional diesel vehicles. He called for blended finance mechanisms, leasing models and stronger data systems to bring financing costs for electric trucks closer to those of diesel-powered vehicles.

Speaking at the fifth E-Fast India Summit 2026, Gauba also launched the Platform for Aggregating Clean Transport (PACT) and the Zero Emission Truck (ZET) Marketplace. He invited logistics operators, vehicle manufacturers, charging-point operators and financiers to participate in developing electric freight corridors, financing instruments and commercial models for the sector.

Also Read: Rajnath Singh Urges Youth To Bring Change Through Constitutional Means

Gauba noted that e-FAST has evolved over four years from a platform for dialogue into an initiative focused on coordinated action. He underlined the economic, environmental and strategic importance of the transition to electric mobility, linking it to India’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and the broader vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

He also pointed to government measures supporting electric vehicle adoption, including production-linked incentive schemes for automobiles and advanced chemistry cells, expansion of public charging infrastructure through investments by oil marketing companies, and demand-side programmes such as FAME, PM e-DRIVE, PARIVARTAN and PM e-Bus Sewa. Gauba noted that heavy trucks account for only 3-4 per cent of the vehicle fleet but contribute more than a third of transport-sector carbon emissions.

According to Gauba, structural fragmentation among logistics operators, high financing costs and the absence of coordinated freight-corridor planning remain major barriers to electric truck adoption. PACT and the ZET Marketplace are intended to address these gaps through demand aggregation, financing innovation and corridor-based project planning, creating a more coordinated framework for scaling up zero-emission freight transport in India.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Urges Women To “Smash Patriarchy”, BJP Hits Back