"Vehicle Retrofitting as Alternative to India's Struggling Scrappage Policy"
End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV)
a vehicle deemed too old or uneconomical to repair, typically over 15 years old under India's scrappage policy
Retrofitting
replacing a vehicle's ICE powertrain with an electric motor, battery, and controller while retaining the existing body and chassis
India's vehicle scrappage framework was formalised to address the twin problems of an ageing vehicle fleet and worsening urban air quality. The policy, administered by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), mandates that vehicles older than 15 years must be retired through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs). Owners who scrap their vehicles are offered incentives including a road tax rebate and a waiver on registration fees for a new vehicle. The broader policy context is India's push toward electric mobility, anchored by schemes such as FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cell batteries. The scrappage policy was conceived as a complementary demand-side lever — clearing old, polluting vehicles from roads while simultaneously stimulating demand for new, cleaner ones.
However, the policy's design has been criticised for being structurally one-dimensional. It offers vehicle owners only one exit route — destruction — without accounting for the economic reality that millions of households depend on older vehicles for livelihoods and daily mobility. The incentive of a 4–6% road tax rebate on the ex-showroom price of a new vehicle is widely regarded as insufficient to offset the cost of purchasing a new vehicle, particularly for two-wheeler and small commercial vehicle owners. This has resulted in a large and growing stock of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) that remain in informal circulation rather than entering the formal scrapping ecosystem.
Retrofitting, in the context of vehicle electrification, refers to the process of replacing a vehicle's internal combustion engine (ICE) components — the engine, fuel system, and exhaust — with an electric powertrain comprising a motor, battery pack, and controller, while retaining the existing chassis, body, tyres, and suspension. This is conceptually distinct from purchasing a new electric vehicle: the vehicle's structural shell is preserved, and only the propulsion system is replaced. The result is a vehicle that eliminates tailpipe emissions — including particulate matter (PM 2.5) and carbon dioxide — without requiring the manufacture of an entirely new vehicle body.
The financial case for retrofitting is significant. Converting a two-wheeler can save an owner ₹50,000 to ₹70,000 compared with purchasing a new EV, while a four-wheeler retrofit can save ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per vehicle. At the macroeconomic level, widespread retrofitting could save over ₹1.2 lakh crore in combined manufacturing capital and consumer acquisition costs relative to a scenario where all ELV owners purchase new EVs. …
'R2 Code of Practices' constitutes a tool available for promoting the adoption of
With reference to India's vehicle scrappage policy, consider the following statements:
1.Vehicles older than 15 years are eligible for scrapping under the current framework.
2.The road tax rebate offered to vehicle owners who scrap their vehicles is 4–6% of the ex-showroom price of a new vehicle.
3.According to NITI Aayog, over 50% of end-of-life vehicles have been formally scrapped in the past three years.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best describes the concept of 'embodied carbon' in the context of electric vehicle manufacturing?
Consider the following pairs:
Institution — Role in India's vehicle ecosystem
1.ARAI — Approval and certification of vehicle standards and retrofit kits
2.VAHAN portal — Centralised database of motor insurance policies
3.RTO — Registration of vehicles and updating of ownership documentation
4.MoRTH — Nodal ministry for road transport and vehicle scrappage policy
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
With reference to vehicle retrofitting as an alternative to scrapping, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.Retrofitting replaces the vehicle's chassis and body along with the ICE powertrain.
2.Retrofitting a four-wheeler can save an owner ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh compared with purchasing a new electric vehicle.
3.Widespread retrofitting could prevent embodied carbon emissions by eliminating the need to manufacture new vehicle bodies.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
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