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New Delhi: Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has predicted that the long term future of petrol and diesel in automotive sector is effectively over. As the market shifts toward new energy vehicles, which are both budget friendly and environmentally less harmful, their adoption is steadily increasing, he said on Tuesday.

Market adapting cleaner fuel options

“There is no future for diesel and petrol vehicles,” Nitin Gadkari stated in his recent address during Busworld India Conclave 2025. The Union Minister said investment in a petrol or a diesel engine nowadays is not considered a good in the long term. Instead opting for cleaner fuel alternatives, such as biofuels, CNG, LNG, and electric powertrains, a report in NDTV quoted him as saying.

Gadkari also said major Indian companies, including Tata Motors, Volvo, Ashok Leyland, and Mahindra & Mahindra, are already involved in hydrogen fuel trials as the government has already begun hydrogen mobility projects.

India close to witnessing hydrogen trucks and buses on road

Nitin Gadkari also emphasised that the government is working on bringing major changes to make travel safer and cleaner by focusing on two main goals: better fuel and stricter rules. The minister said he wants India to use ethanol, a fuel derived from plants instead of expensive imported oil. Gadlkari said he is happy that car companies are already building “flex-fuel” engines to handle it.

In his address, Gadkari also said that bus registration will now be uploaded on vahan portals along with physical and video approvals. The move is aimed at removing the need for self-certification by bus manufacturers.