New BIS standard aims to accelerate adoption, enforce safety, and bring long-awaited regulatory clarity to an emerging segment

India took a decisive step toward mainstreaming electric farm mechanisation as Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi formally released IS 19262:2025 — “Electric Agricultural Tractors: Test Code”, the country’s first dedicated Indian Standard for electric tractors. Unveiled on National Consumer Day 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, the standard marks a critical inflection point in aligning agricultural machinery regulation with India’s broader clean mobility and decarbonisation agenda.

Developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), IS 19262:2025 introduces uniform terminology, harmonised testing protocols, and clearly defined performance benchmarks for electric agricultural tractors—closing a regulatory gap that had persisted as electric models began entering India’s farm mechanisation ecosystem. The standard prescribes structured procedures to evaluate PTO power, drawbar performance, belt and pulley efficiency, vibration levels, component integrity, and specification compliance, creating a common technical framework for manufacturers, testing agencies, policymakers, and end users.

The test code is technically anchored in IS 5994:2022 (Agricultural Tractors — Test Code) and relevant Automotive Industry Standards for electric vehicles, suitably adapted for agricultural operating conditions. BIS officials noted that implementation through authorised testing institutes will standardise performance claims, improve product reliability, and strengthen market confidence, while generating a scientific basis for future acceptance criteria and conformity assessment frameworks tailored specifically to electric tractors.

The standard arrives as electric agricultural tractors emerge as a strategically significant—though still nascent—segment within India’s farm equipment market. Powered by battery packs and electric motors instead of diesel engines, these machines offer clear advantages: zero tailpipe emissions at the farm level, lower operating and maintenance costs, reduced noise pollution, and healthier working conditions for farmers. With fewer moving parts than internal combustion engines, electric tractors also promise higher energy efficiency and reduced dependence on diesel, a key cost input and a major source of agricultural emissions.

Policy-makers acknowledged that despite rapid advances in battery chemistry, power electronics, and electric drivetrains, the absence of harmonised and agriculture-specific testing protocols had constrained wider adoption, limiting the ability to consistently assess safety, durability, and field performance. In response to a priority request from the Mechanization & Technology Division of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, BIS fast-tracked the development of a dedicated Indian Standard for electric agricultural tractors.

The formulation of IS 19262:2025 involved extensive stakeholder consultation, drawing inputs from electric tractor manufacturers, testing and certification agencies, research and academic institutions, and technical experts in agricultural engineering and electric mobility. Key contributors included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, ICAR–Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (Bhopal), Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute (Budni), Automotive Research Association of India (Pune), the Tractor and Mechanization Association, and the All India Farmers Alliance, among others.

Although voluntary, the notification of IS 19262:2025 is widely viewed as a foundational regulatory signal, strengthening India’s standardisation architecture for emerging agri-technologies while aligning domestic practices with evolving global norms in electric mobility and sustainable mechanisation. For manufacturers, it delivers regulatory clarity and a level playing field; for farmers, greater confidence in performance and safety claims; and for policymakers, a robust tool to guide incentives, procurement decisions, and future regulatory pathways.

As India seeks to balance productivity growth with climate commitments and rising rural cost pressures, the new standard positions electric tractors not as experimental alternatives, but as credible, test-validated contenders in the next phase of India’s farm mechanisation journey.