Karnataka’s Proposed EV Hub To House 1K+ Startups: IT Minister C N Ashwath Narayan

In a bid to promote the electric vehicles segment within the state, Karnataka’s minister for IT and biotech, C N Ashwath Narayan stated that the government’s proposed electric vehicle (EV) industry hub would house about 1,000 startups. 

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 10th International mobility conference organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers India (SAEI), he said, “The government has already taken several measures to promote the growth of the automating sector.”

The EV hub was announced a few weeks ago when the Karnataka government unveiled the ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ project. Under the project, the state’s startup hub would house around 5,000 startups and have a 20K-seater IT park and a 1 Lakh sq ft plug-and-play factory for engineering and manufacturing startups.

He added that five centres of excellence will be set up to facilitate training, research, development, innovation and entrepreneurship within the IT, biotech, semiconductor, and electronics segment so that the state becomes a hub for EVs in the near future.

The Karnataka government is also working towards eco-friendly fuel, especially starting the production of hydrogen fuel and building regulations around environmental protection as prescribed by the United Nations.

An Overview Of State-Wise EV Adoption Plans

The announcement of an EV hub in Karnataka, promoting startups within the segment is in line with several other states and the central government pushing for the adoption of clean mobility by incentivising via policies, subsidies, tax exemption, infrastructure development and more.

A research report by Grandwire suggests that the country’s EV market size was valued at $220 Mn, and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 94.4% between 2021 and 2030. The massive adoption will largely be driven by the government’s incentives for choosing clean mobility.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government also announced the EV manufacturing and mobility policy for the adoption of clean mobility solutions in the state. It would grant road tax and registration fee exemption to EVs, a 30% capital subsidy to investors, stamp duty reimbursement to battery manufacturers and more.

Previously, the Delhi government has targeted a 25% electrification of all new vehicle registrations by 2024. Delhi EV policy, notified in 2020, targets 25% electrification of all new vehicle registrations by 2024. 

Further, in the line of initiatives comes the Chhattisgarh government, who proposed a plan to have 15% of newly registered commercial and personal vehicles as EVs. It will also provide state GST reimbursement on the sale of e-buses, manufacturing of EVs, and more.

While the Rajasthan and Haryana governments have no specific target, they too have shared a lump sum incentive for EV buyers, manufacturers, investors and other stakeholders.