Govt Panel Proposes Incentives To Boost Electric Mobility

In a bid to encourage production and adoption of emobility in India, a government-appointed panel led by cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha proposed several incentives for makers and buyers of electric vehicles.

According to the reports, in order to encourage auto manufacturers to make more electric vehicles, the panel has proposed a lower basic customs duty on the components along with lower GST rates. Further, it also suggested different registration rates, exemption from road tax and parking charges for electric vehicle users.

Citing unnamed sources, media reports have stated that the final decision on these suggestions will be taken during the meeting at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which is scheduled on January 9, 2019.

It also added that once the decision is made, the Department of Revenue, Department of Heavy Industries and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be taking the necessary action.

The government think tank, Niti Aayog will be acting as the nodal agency for the roll out of this plan.

Though the government is yet to finalise and implement the electric vehicle policy, it has been taking several initiatives to boost emobility. According to reports, the Centre is considering the use of government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal to aggregate all electric vehicle orders from government departments to enable bulk procurement, as a part of the draft policy. Also, the finance ministry has directed all government departments to prefer green vehicles.

Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs released new guidelines which direct residential and commercial buildings to allot about 20% of their parking space for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

All the measures are been taken to achieve the set goal of having electric vehicles account for at least 30% of the total new vehicle registrations by 2030.

In November 2018, the central government had also increased the outlay for the first phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) scheme to $126.74 Mn (INR 895 Cr).

Further, it is also planning out the second phase of FAME which has proposed setting up of a venture capital fund of $70.85 Mn (INR 500 Cr) for development of a manufacturing base for zero-emission vehicles and their components, taking prototypes to manufacturing, and development of R&D among others.

Last year, the government also said that subsidies will be available for all categories of electric vehicles including two, three, and four-wheelers.

[The development was reported by ET]