Sustainable mobility took center stage at the recently concluded two-day conclave in Indore. ESGNews.earth was a media partner for the event.
The “Sustainable Mobility Conclave 2025,” organized by Natrax and the Ministry of Heavy Industries, concluded with a focus on bringing circularity and sustainability into the mainstream for India’s automotive sector. Experts from the auto industry and sustainability fields addressed inconsistencies in policy, regulatory gaps, and key elements related to End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs). The need for organizational sustainability was also a major topic of discussion.
Session snippets:
During the inaugural session, Dr. Manish Jaiswal, Director, NATRAX, set the context for the two-day conference. He underlined the automotive industry’s critical need to build a circular economy. This, he explained, would benefit the environment, energy, and material security. Dr. Jaiswal stressed how the conclave brought together all stakeholders—including government, industry, and academia—for a meaningful conversation. He also highlighted the steps NATRAX is taking towards sustainability and emphasized that India could make circularity a driving force, aligning with its core ethos of Vasudev Kutumbakam.
Divyank Singh, CEO, Indore Smart City & Bus Corridor, delivered a compelling chief guest address. He highlighted Indore’s pioneering role in sustainability and circularity, showcasing how the city found innovative ways to implement circularity despite financial constraints.
He gave examples of waste-to-CNG conversion, carbon credit trading, and solar-powered innovations, which cemented the city’s reputation as a national leader. He stressed that a growing vehicle population outgrows city roads, emphasizing the need for mass transportation powered by renewable resources.
Reji Mathai, Director, ARAI, stressed the need for India’s automotive industry to grow responsibly. He highlighted mobility’s role in India’s net-zero vision, touching on biofuels, biogas, green hydrogen, and policies like ELV and EPR.
Akhilesh Srivastava, Director, ITS India, spoke on India’s vast road network, congestion challenges, and the urgent need for digital traffic solutions. He emphasized the need for new projects like “Charge-as-you-go” to support EVs in the commercial sector.
Brijesh Singh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Rosmerta Technologies, drew attention to new policies like EPR, which can drive ELV recycling and have a transformative impact on the auto industry.
The two-day conference unveiled India’s first White Paper on Electric Road Systems (ERS), titled Changing Ahead: Global Insights and India’s Roadmap for Electric Road Systems (ERS). ITS India and NATRAX also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bring next-generation technology solutions to the sector.
In the valedictory session, Dr. Hanif Qureshi, Additional Secretary of MHI, addressed the conclave virtually. He spoke about various government policy initiatives and stressed the challenges of financing electric vehicles due to high battery costs. He concluded that initiatives like battery passports could improve efficiency in battery circularity, lowering raw material costs and reducing import dependency.
India’s first White Paper on Electric Road Systems (ERS), titled 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 (𝐄𝐑𝐒), was unveiled during the conference. There was also an MoU signed between ITS India and NATRAX—National Automotive Test Tracks.
The key takeaways from the sustainable mobility conclave:
Integrated Approach: India can achieve a sustainable mobility future by integrating technology, recycling, and community-led initiatives to unlock valuable materials from waste.
Policy and Innovation: Strong policies, innovative recycling, and digital solutions are essential to put India’s circular economy vision into practice for the mobility sector.
Waste as Opportunity: The conclave showed how waste can become an opportunity for a greener future. This includes recycling plastics into roads, reusing fabrics for automotive solutions, and implementing circular supply chains and disciplined traffic management.
Strengthening Frameworks: Accelerating circularity in the automotive industry requires strengthening policy frameworks like ELV (End-of-Life Vehicles) and EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility), alongside collaborative innovation across all stakeholders.
Holistic Transformation: Both societal and industrial transformation, driven by innovation, are necessary to create a sustainable and circular pathway.
India’s Unique Potential: While Europe adopts new circularity frameworks, India has significant potential to drive sustainable solutions through the use of biofuels and industrial and farm by-products.
Prominent speakers at the two-day conference included:
Dr. Fazal Husain, CEO, Unique Eco Recycle; Nilesh Wadhwa, Assistant Editor, Motoring Trends; Dr. Saikat Das Gupta, Chief Scientist, Hasetri, JK Industries, Prof. Tanuja Sheorey, Professor, IIITDM Jabalpur; Balraj Bhanot, Ex-Director, ARAI; Dr. Anandavalli Narayanan, Director, CSIR–SERC; Pawan Mulukutla, Executive Director – Integrated Transport, Clean Air & Hydrogen, WRI India; Nitin Chitkara, CEO, MMCM; Gurusharan Dhillon, Director – eMobility Services, CES; Anirban Chatterjee, Head, Business Strategy & Development, Bureau Veritas; Dr. Shahab Fatima, Associate Professor, CART, IIT Delhi; Gagandeep Singh, CRRI; Ambrish Kela, MD, Scientech Technologies Pvt. Ltd; Sumantra Bibhuti Barooah, Senior Associate Editor, Acko Drive; Dr. John Bryson, University of Birmingham; Vidit Jain, CTO, Ralson Tyres; Suresh Pulluru, General Manager, RNTBCI – Renault; Shivansh Tamrakar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Savy Greentech; Prof. Manish Billore, Ph.D, Principal, SISTEC; Dr. Shrihari Sohani, Associate Dean & Professor, IIM Indore; Dr. Ibrahim Hafeezur Rehman, Director, Namtech; Renjini Liza Varghese; Chief News Editor, ESGNews.earth; Nadja Glaeser, Director, Sustainability & Climate Monitor, Deloitte; Prof.Ramakrishna Y.B, Prashant Khare, RRCAT; Dr. Pritee Sharma, HOD, IIT Indore; Dr. Bharat Kapgate, Deputy Director, IRMRA; Yogesh Umbarkar, Vice President, Valtech Mobility GmbH; Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan, Founder-Director, Jimmy McGilligan Centre; and Prashanth Doreswamy, President & CEO, Continental India.
