Nitin Gadkari renews his vehicle scrappage push, urging automakers to offer bigger discounts while introducing low-cost retrofit technology and supporting cleaner replacement of old trucks and buses.
Key points
- What Gadkari Is Asking The Auto Industry To Do
- A New Retrofit Device For Older Heavy Vehicles
- How PARIVARTAN Fits Into The Bigger Push
- Why This Matters For Owners Of Old Trucks And Buses
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Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has once again turned up the pressure on India's auto industry to get behind the country's vehicle scrappage policy, framing it as a genuine commercial opportunity rather than just a government recommendation. His latest comments came alongside two concrete announcements, a new emission-cutting retrofit device for older heavy vehicles and a fresh push tied to the PARIVARTAN scheme already running in Delhi-NCR.
What Gadkari Is Asking The Auto Industry To Do
Table of Contents
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1. What Gadkari Is Asking The Auto Industry To Do |
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2. A New Retrofit Device For Older Heavy Vehicles |
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3. How PARIVARTAN Fits Into The Bigger Push |
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4. How PARIVARTAN Fits Into The Bigger Push |
Gadkari's central ask hasn't really changed over the past couple of years, he wants automakers to offer bigger, more consistent discounts to buyers who present a scrappage certificate when purchasing a new vehicle. His argument is that this kind of concession does double duty: it accelerates the replacement of old, polluting trucks and buses, while simultaneously creating fresh demand for new vehicle sales, a genuine win for manufacturers rather than a cost they're simply absorbing for the government's benefit.
Several major commercial vehicle makers have already responded with rebates in the 1.5 to 3.5 percent range on new purchases linked to scrapping an old vehicle. Tata Motors and Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles have each offered a 3 percent discount on new commercial cargo vehicles above 3.5 tonnes GVW against a scrappage certificate, with Ashok Leyland offering a similar concession. Gadkari's renewed push is essentially asking the industry to go further and to make these kinds of offers more widespread and easier for ordinary buyers to actually use.
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A New Retrofit Device For Older Heavy Vehicles
Alongside the discount push, Gadkari announced approval of new AIS 228 standards for a retrofit device aimed at pre-BS6 heavy vehicles still running on Indian roads. Developed by an IIT Delhi-led team, the device is designed to cut particulate matter emissions by as much as 90 percent and NOx emissions by 60 percent and it comes at a notably low cost of around Rs 4,000.
This is a meaningful addition to the scrappage conversation, since not every old truck or bus owner is in a financial position to scrap their vehicle and buy new immediately. A low-cost retrofit option gives owners a genuine middle path, a way to substantially cut emissions from an existing vehicle while they plan for eventual replacement, rather than facing an all-or-nothing choice between an expensive new purchase and continuing to run a heavily polluting vehicle unchanged.
How PARIVARTAN Fits Into The Bigger Push
Gadkari's comments also tied directly back to the government's PARIVARTAN scheme, launched for the Delhi-NCR region in July 2026. That scheme targets scrapping more than 2 lakh older trucks and buses across the region, offering incentives for owners who switch to newer BS6 or electric vehicles in their place. Gadkari specifically asked automakers to offer additional concessions against scrappage certificates within this scheme too, arguing it would help accelerate fleet replacement in exactly the region where vehicular pollution concerns are most acute.
This connects Gadkari's national-level industry appeal to a concrete, already-running scheme with real numbers behind it, rather than leaving the discount push as a general policy statement without an obvious place to actually apply it.
Why This Matters For Owners Of Old Trucks And Buses
For owners currently running old trucks or old buses well past their prime, this renewed push signals that the financial case for scrapping and upgrading is likely to keep improving over the coming months, both through potentially larger OEM discounts and through low-cost retrofit options for those not ready to replace their vehicle just yet. Gadkari has also previously flagged Bharat NCAP's growing success, with more than 30 models from 11 companies now certified, as part of the same broader push to modernise India's on-road vehicle fleet from multiple directions at once, safety, emissions and age, all together.
For fleet operators weighing whether to hold onto an ageing truck or bus a while longer or make the switch now, it's worth keeping an eye on how individual manufacturers respond to this latest appeal, since scrappage-linked discounts and retrofit options are exactly the kind of incentive that can shift the maths meaningfully in favour of upgrading sooner rather than later.
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Frequently Asked Questions on Commercial Vehicles
Q1. What is Gadkari asking automakers to do on vehicle scrappage?
Ans. Nitin Gadkari has asked automakers to offer additional concessions to buyers who present a scrappage certificate when purchasing a new vehicle, arguing this would accelerate fleet replacement while boosting demand for new trucks and buses.
Q2. What new retrofit device did Gadkari announce for old vehicles?
Ans. Gadkari announced approval of new AIS 228 standards for a retrofit device, developed by an IIT Delhi-led team, that can be fitted to pre-BS6 heavy vehicles to cut particulate matter emissions by 90% and NOx by 60%, at a cost of around Rs 4,000.
Q3. How does the PARIVARTAN scheme fit into this scrappage push?
Ans. The PARIVARTAN scheme, launched for Delhi-NCR in July, targets scrapping more than 2 lakh older trucks and buses and provides incentives for buyers switching to newer BS6 or electric vehicles.
Q4. At what age do commercial vehicles become ineligible for re-registration under India's scrappage policy?
Ans. Under India's Vehicle Scrappage Policy (V-VMP), commercial vehicles older than 15 years and private vehicles older than 20 years are no longer eligible for re-registration if found unfit, making them candidates for scrapping.