Nitin Jirafe, Vice President – Engine Business, Cummins India and Managing Director, Tata Cummins, talks about how India’s commercial vehicle industry is navigating the energy transition.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Jirafe outlines the need to reduce 85% oil and 45% gas imports, positions hydrogen as the most promising route to energy independence, and explains why hydrogen trial vehicles are already on Indian roads.
He also highlights LNG as a low-hanging fruit with fuelling infrastructure in place, and why EVs currently suit only short duty cycles because of charging and payload constraints. The discussion covers how OEMs are matching powertrains—LNG, hydrogen or batteries—to specific applications, Cummins’ HELM platform and software-driven vehicle innovations, India’s export edge despite tariff disruptions, and the company’s significant investments in hydrogen and battery plants through the Tata Cummins JV.
With rapid GDP growth and expanding highways driving commercial vehicle demand, Jirafe shares how Cummins is preparing for India’s next wave of sustainable mobility.
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