The government is developing a new system called the Connected Commercial Vehicle (CCV) protocol that would allow different types of vehicles and infrastructure to communicate using a single standard, making it easier for them to work together seamlessly, two officials familiar with the development said.
The plan is in the works to address the gap between smart vehicles, which are inherently capable of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity, and surrounding infrastructure that doesn’t respond to those vehicles, said the first of the two officials cited above, who both spoke on condition of anonymity.
V2X is a communication system that allows vehicles to communicate and exchange information with other vehicles and infrastructure including traffic lights and toll booths.
Officials from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as well as the NITI Aayog along with other relevant ministries and industry representatives have started discussions on the plan, the official said.
Amid the rise of autonomous vehicles
The development gains significance as robotaxi services and autonomous trucking and logistics companies including Waymo (Alphabet Inc.), Baidu Apollo Go, Zoox (Amazon), WeRide, Aurora, Kodiak, Nuro and Clevon gain traction overseas.
Waymo and Zoox did not immediately respond to questions from Mint. Queries emailed to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, NHAI and NITI Aayog on December 19 remained unanswered. Queries to Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors, which makes several vehicle segments including buses and trucks, sent on December 19 also remained unanswered.
While driverless vehicles are not allowed in India, driver assistance technology is legal. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) levels 1 and 2 are enabled as this technology only provides features such as adaptive cruise control, lane assist and driver attention monitoring.
Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 requires all drivers to have a valid driving licence, indicating that all drivers must be human.
For example, ADAS level 3 has conditional automation, which means that the vehicle drives itself under certain conditions. Other advances in automated vehicles allow the vehicle to evaluate traffic and swerve into different lanes.
Those initiatives are being discussed and refined through dedicated network working groups, which the official said examine 5-, 10- and 15-year plans for transportation connectivity, data integration and multimodal network optimization.
Aiming for apparent connectivity
The plan also includes a new set of regulatory and technical frameworks aimed at enabling seamless connectivity between electric vehicles (both passenger and commercial) and next-generation highway infrastructure, according to the officials cited above.
As India prepares for large-scale long-distance electric mobility across national corridors, efforts are focused on creating common communication and interoperable protocols to enable the integration of electric cars, buses and trucks with third-generation (3G) mobile networks, including charging infrastructure, toll systems, roadside assistance and V2X platforms, the first official said.
The center is exploring regulatory changes that would break down existing silos between highways, law enforcement agencies, vehicle manufacturers and infrastructure operators, according to people familiar with the discussions.
“The goal is to move beyond stand-alone charging stations and create a fully connected electric highway ecosystem where vehicles, gates, charging stations and control centers speak a common language,” said the second official.
The government already collects a lot of vehicle data from associated transport infrastructure, such as toll booths, and this data can be crucial for transport planning, said Shyamasis Das, a researcher at the Center for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP).
“For example, it is difficult to estimate the total cost of ownership of an electric long-haul truck. But if there is real-world data on how far trucks travel in a year using highways and expressways, this can potentially lead to a better understanding of costs and requirements for charging infrastructure, allowing for cost-effective and easier deployment of e-trucks,” he said.
Focus on V2X platforms
The focus of the plan is V2X platforms, which experts say allow vehicles to communicate with each other on the road and with surrounding infrastructure, often without the need for back-end cellular networks such as 4G or 5G networks.
“This communication standard ensures the exchange of information about emergency events such as accidents, dense fog, road closures, clearance for emergency vehicles, collision warning and many more. It also enables quick response from the administration in case of emergency situations,” said Shantanu Das, Chief Automotive Architect, Sasken Technologies.
Das said these standards are already in use in Europe, Japan, the US and China, and are gradually being adopted by other major countries. However, this requires significant improvement in road condition through regular maintenance, clear lane markings and upgrading of road equipment, he said.
The plan also took into account the emergence of electric vehicles and their growing demand to upgrade highway infrastructure to meet the servicing and charging needs of these zero-emission vehicles, the second official cited above said. “The proposed network will enable real-time vehicle diagnostics, asset monitoring and rapid response for users and fleet operators,” said the official.
Growing adoption of EVs
The adoption of electric vehicles in India has grown steadily over the years, with more than 2 million electric cars sold in 2025 compared to 1.9 million in 2024. According to data from vehicle registry portal Vahan, about 8% of the 27.4 million new vehicles sold in India in 2025 were electric, compared to 7.4% the previous year.
The world’s third-largest auto market by revenue also expects its investment in electric cars to grow significantly in the coming years. According to Mordor Intelligence, India’s EV market is worth about $55 billion in 2025 and will double by 2029.
“The direction is clear – electric mobility on highways cannot expand without interoperability. Regulations are now catching up with technology,” said an industry participant, also requesting anonymity because those discussions are still ongoing.
EV charging is also likely to expand, with about 29,000 public EV charging stations installed in the country by August 2025. The government plans to install more than 72,000 additional stations by fiscal year 28 under the ₹10,900 crore PM E-Drive scheme, which will cover part of the cost of setting up charging stations and battery exchange stations.
India is also creating a unified EV charging app that will allow EV users to search, charge and pay for charging at various charging service providers.
However, the plan to modernize road transport infrastructure will require significant investment from both the government and industry, said Das of Sasken Technologies. However, it will open up investment opportunities. “This will open up opportunities for local companies, including automotive suppliers, semiconductor manufacturers, insurance companies, communications infrastructure providers and many others,” he said.
