Ban diesel 4-wheelers in all Indian cities by 2027: Report

The Energy Transition Advisory Committee of the Petroleum Ministry has submitted its final report, which calls for a complete ban on diesel-powered 4-wheelers in all cities with a million-plus population by 2027.

All new registrations for city delivery vehicles should only be electric from 2024.

The advisory panel headed by former petroleum secretary, Tarun Kapoor, states that the overall direction for surface transport has to be in favour of EVs. It recommends that a ban on diesel-powered 4-wheelers has to be enforced in 5 years and suggests that no diesel-powered city buses should be added in urban areas.

As per the report, from 2024, all new registrations for city delivery vehicles should only be electric so that 75% of the delivery vehicles can be electric in all million-plus cities in the next 10 years.

The Indian Railways is electrifying its tracks at a fast pace. The report states that the share of railways in national freight should rise to 50% from the current 23% in 15 years.

The advisory committee believes the share of electricity in India’s final energy consumption to rise from 18% to 40%. We should aim to have 25% of households using electricity for cooking by 2030. It further suggested that cooking gas (LPG) should be blended with compressed biogas and hydrogen.