The government is developing a new system called the Connected Commercial Vehicle (CCV) protocol, which would allow different types of vehicles and infrastructure to communicate using a single standard, making it easier for them to operate together seamlessly, two officials familiar with the development said.
The plan is being drawn up to address the gap between smart vehicles that are inherently capable of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity and surrounding infrastructure that is not responsive to these vehicles, said the first of the two officials cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the 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 of the Union road transport and highways ministry, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), as well as the NITI Aayog, along with other relevant ministries and industry representatives have begun discussions on this plan, this official said.
The development assumes significance given that robotaxi services and autonomous trucking and logistics companies including Waymo (Alphabet Inc.), Baidu Apollo Go, Zoox (Amazon), WeRide, Aurora, Kodiak, Nuro and Clevon have been gaining traction overseas.
Waymo and Zoox did not immediately respond to Mint’s queries. Queries emailed to the ministry of road transport and highways, NHAI, and NITI Aayog on 19 December remained unanswered. Queries to Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Motors, which makes multiple vehicle segments including buses and trucks, sent on 19 December also remained unanswered.
While driverless vehicles are not permitted in India, driver-assisting technology is legal. Levels 1 and 2 of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are permitted, as this technology only provides features such as adaptive cruise control, lane assistance, and driver attention monitoring.
Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 calls for all drivers to have a valid driving licence, indicating that all drivers need to be humans.
ADAS level 3, for instance, has conditional automation, meaning the vehicle drives itself in certain conditions. Further advancements in automated vehicles allow the vehicle to assess traffic and steer into different lanes.
These initiatives are being discussed and refined through dedicated network working groups, which are examining 5-, 10- and 15-year plans for transport connectivity, data integration and multimodal network optimisation, according to the official.
The plan also involves 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-haul electric mobility across national corridors, the effort focuses on creating common communication and interoperability protocols that will allow electric cars, buses and freight vehicles to integrate with third-generation (3G) mobility networks, including charging infrastructure, tolling systems, roadside assistance and V2X platforms, said the first official.
According to people familiar with the discussions, the Centre is examining regulatory changes that would break existing silos between highways, enforcement agencies, vehicle manufacturers and infrastructure operators.
“The objective is to move beyond standalone charging stations and create a fully connected electric highway ecosystem where vehicles, gantries, charging points and control centres speak a common language," said the second official.
The government already collects a lot of vehicular data from associated transport infrastructure such as toll booths, and this data can be pivotal for transport planning, said Shyamasis Das, research fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP).
"It is difficult, for instance, to estimate the total cost of owning a long-haul electric truck. But if there is real-world data on how much distance trucks cover in a year, using highways and expressways, it may potentially lead to better understanding of costs and charging infrastructure requirements, enabling cost-effective and easier e-truck deployment," he said.
The focus of this plan is on V2X platforms that, according to experts, allow vehicles to communicate with each other on the road, as well as with the surrounding infrastructure, often without the need for back-end cellular networks such as 4G or 5G networks.
“This communication standard provides information exchange regarding emergencies, for instance, accidents, dense fog, road closure, clear path for emergency vehicles, collision warnings and many more. It also enables quick response from administration in case of emergency situations," said Shantanu Das, chief architect – automotive, Sasken Technologies.
Das said these standards are already being used in Europe, Japan, the US, and China, and are gradually being adopted in other major countries. But this needs significant improvement of the road conditions with regular maintenance, clear lane-marking, and upgrading roadside equipment, he said.
The emergence of electric vehicles and their rising demand have also been accounted for in the plan, with aims 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 support for users and fleet operators," said this official.
India’s EV adoption has gradually risen over the years, with more than 2 million EVs sold in 2025, compared to 1.9 million in 2024. About 8% of the 27.4 million new vehicles sold in India in 2025 were electric, compared with 7.4% in the previous year, according to data from the central government’s vehicle registry portal Vahan.
The world’s third-largest automobile market by sales is also looking at its EV investments rising significantly in the coming years. According to market intelligence firm Mordor Intelligence, India’s EV market is worth about $55 billion in 2025, and will double in value by 2029.
“The direction is clear—electric mobility on highways cannot scale without interoperability. Regulations are now catching up with technology," said an industry participant, also requesting anonymity as these discussions are still ongoing.
EV charging is also likely to scale up, with about 29,000 public EV charging stations installed in the country as of August 2025. The government plans to install over 72,000 more stations by FY28 under the ₹10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme, which will cover a part of the set-up costs for charging stations and battery swapping stations.
India is also creating a unified EV charging app, which will allow EV users to locate, charge, and pay for charging across different charging service providers.
The plan to upgrade road transport infrastructure, however, will require substantial investments from both government and industry, said Das of Sasken Technologies. It will, however, open investment opportunities. “This will open up opportunities for local companies including automotive suppliers, semiconductor players, insurance companies, communication infrastructure providers and many more," he said.