Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the approval of new AIS 228 standards for retrofitting rear emission-control devices on pre-BS6 heavy vehicles on Thursday. According to reports from Business Standard, the technology developed by an IIT Delhi-led team is capable of reducing particulate matter emissions by 90 per cent and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 60 per cent. The device costs around ₹4,000-5,000 and has demonstrated emissions from a retrofitted BS4 vehicle comparable to those of a BS6 vehicle.
Gadkari urged automobile manufacturers to actively support the government's vehicle scrappage drive by offering discounts to customers who scrap old vehicles and purchase new ones. As reported by Business Standard, he said the industry should view scrappage as a commercial opportunity that could boost vehicle sales and production, rather than merely as a government recommendation. The government's Parivartan scheme for the Delhi-NCR region, launched in July, targets the scrapping of more than 2 lakh older trucks and buses and provides incentives for purchasing newer BS6 and electric vehicles. Additional concessions against scrappage certificates have been introduced to help accelerate fleet replacement while creating demand for new vehicles.
Gadkari highlighted the success of Bharat NCAP, stating that more than 30 models from 11 companies have already been certified under the programme. According to Business Standard, the initiative has significantly lowered the cost of vehicle safety testing, with testing under Bharat NCAP costing around ₹60 lakh per model compared with about ₹2.5 crore under Global NCAP. The lower cost has encouraged even foreign automakers to send vehicles to India for testing, helping improve the credibility and quality of Indian vehicles in global markets.
Building on the success of Bharat NCAP, Gadkari announced plans to introduce Bharat NCAP 2 from October 2027, which will widen the assessment beyond crashworthiness to cover the entire safety chain including crash avoidance, passenger protection, pedestrian protection, and post-crash evacuation and care. As reported by Business Standard, the government will also evaluate new global technologies and innovations developed by Indian startups as part of the expanded safety regime. Gadkari invited the automobile industry to share suggestions and technologies that could be incorporated into the programme.
