Policy Brief
Let’s Electrify- Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption and Awareness in India
09 Sep 2025
| Faiz Jamal
This position paper seeks to build foundational awareness and understanding of electric vehicles (EVs), with an emphasis on accelerating their adoption in India. The analysis focuses on the private vehicle segment, as highlighted in a study by TERI, that projects a substantial rise in personal vehicle ownership, making it a critical area for electrification.
EV Charging in India: Ecosystem Perspectives and Skilling Opportunities
03 Sep 2025
Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) today unveiled a landmark whitepaper on skilling for EV charging infrastructure at Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Dialogue India 2025. The whitepaper highlights the critical role of charge point operators (CPOs)–the backbone of EV charging infrastructure–in driving India’s transition to electric mobility. It identifies limited hands-on training opportunities, the absence of standardized training modules for CPOs, and a shortage of qualified trainers with expertise in both technical and operational aspects of EV charging infrastructure as the top barriers to building this workforce.
Accelerating Biodiesel Blending in India
18 Sep 2024
| Faiz Jamal
India’s dependency on imported fossil fuels is mounting incessantly. The petroleum products consumption in the country has increased about 38.2% from the past decade, resulting in a substantial expenditure on oil imports.Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels that can be produced from non-edible sources, waste oils, animal fats, etc. India’s government is emphasizing energy security with a target of reducing the usage of fossil fuels and import burdens.Several initiatives have been introduced to increase indigenous production of biofuels, as part of the Indian government’s aggressive plan of 20% ethanol in petrol by 2025–26 and 5% biodiesel in diesel by 2030.
Assessment of Bio-CNG as a Vehicular Fuel in India
13 Feb 2024
Surge in demand for mobility and the consequent consumption of fossil fuels for powering transport vehicles is massive and is increasing rapidly with time. However, with geopolitical tensions, shrinking crude oil reserves, and negative impacts of vehicular emissions on global and local pollution has influenced scientific community to explore alternative and sustainable fuels for the transport sector.
Fuel Efficiency Improvement and Emission Standards in Road Transport
18 Aug 2023
| Piyush Saxena
| Ruchika Mattoo
India’s rapid urbanization and economic growth has accelerated both passenger and freight transport demands, which have led to the need for prioritizing adoption of low carbon technologies, also strengthening the country’s energy security.
Accelerating Biodiesel Blending in India
18 Aug 2023
| Faiz Jamal
India’s dependency on imported fossil fuels is mounting incessantly. The petroleum products consumption in the country has increased about 38.2% from the past decade, resulting in a substantial expenditure on oil imports.
An Assessment of Avoided CO2 Emissions during Construction, Maintenance and Operation of National Highways
22 Feb 2023
India has the 2nd largest road network in the world. Amongst the different types of roads, the National Highways extending to 1,44,634 km has contributed significantly to India’s rapid economic development. The rapid pace of construction of highways is enabling integration of the local economies of far flung towns and villages into the national economy.
Battery Electric Technology In The Heavy-Duty Vehicle Segment
08 Jul 2022
| Mr Sharif Qamar
| Faiz Jamal
70% of total tonne-km of India's freight transport takes place via roads (TERI, 2015) and is dominated by medium and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) with a share of around 60% and the remaining by light-duty vehicles (LDVs). Reduced emission levels from 'hard to abate' sectors such as medium/heavy-duty long-distance transport, aviation, and shipping will continue to be critical in the future. Sustained efforts in this direction are crucial to achieving emission intensity reduction targets globally and in India, as outlined in the country's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Transitioning to a Low Carbon Technology for the Road Transport in India
14 Mar 2022
| Mr Abhishek Kaushik
| Mr Shanmuganathan K
| Ms Sachi Vohra
| Mr G Renjith
India is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. At present, India accounts for a significant multimodal road transport sector contributing approximately 10 per cent of country’s total CO2 emissions, making it the second most carbon emitting sector in the country. Driven by rising population, income, and urbanization, under a business-as-usual scenario, India’s energy demand from transport is projected to increase six fold in 2050 from current levels. Therefore, decarbonizing the transport sector in India can help to substantially reduce these environmental impacts.