The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has signed the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility under the government’s scheme for replacement of old trucks and buses in the Delhi–NCR region.
The agreement makes Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility the first Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to partner with the Government for implementation of the scheme.
Under the agreement, the companies will provide an eight per cent discount on the ex-showroom price of eligible trucks and buses purchased under the scheme. For electric vehicles, the discount will be capped at the level applicable to an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle of the equivalent Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) category.
In addition to the eight per cent discount offered by participating OEMs, the Central Government will provide five per cent interest subvention and fixed monthly fuel vouchers for five years. Participating state governments will provide up to 100 per cent concession on motor vehicle tax for 10 years and waive registration fees for eligible beneficiaries.
The Ministry said that the signing of the first MoU marks an important milestone towards operationalisation the scheme, which aims to reduce vehicular pollution and support fleet modernisation in Delhi–NCR.
The scheme incentivises owners of trucks and buses registered in Delhi-NCR and complying with Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) or earlier emission norms to replace them with Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) or stricter emission-compliant vehicles, or electric vehicles.
MoRTH said that more automobile OEMs are expected to join the scheme in the coming days, enabling wider participation and greater adoption of cleaner transport technologies.
