Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, has unveiled India’s first-ever retrofitted Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered tractor. It is reported that this tractor will be able to save money to the tune of Rs 1 lakh annually for farmers when it comes to the fuel cost. Gadkari has also said that the government will set up centres where the retro fitment of CNG kits on tractors can be carried out in the future. The conversion kit has been developed jointly by Tomasetto Achille India and Rawmatt Techno Solutions.
The first tractor which was retrofitted with a CNG kit is owned by Nitin Gadkari himself and the registration certificate of the tractor was awarded by the Cabinet Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan. The incentive behind one fitting a CNG kit on their tractor includes the likes of the annual savings of Rs 1 lakh, as mentioned above, and additionally, being run on CNG, it helps in the reduction of overall pollution levels as well as reportedly, the emissions are reduced by 70 per cent as compared to diesel. All of this happens for negligible loss of power and performance from the engine after the conversion.