Electric Vehicles (EV) Schemes across India 2024: All you need to know

Remarkably, the Indian electric vehicle market is experiencing rapid expansion, with sales reaching 1,752,406 units in FY2024, representing an impressive year-on-year growth of 40.31% compared to the previous fiscal year, according to JMK Research & Analytics.

As the Indian government, both at the central and state levels has implemented various schemes to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption, here’s all you need to know.

i. PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-Drive):

On October 1, 2024, the government commenced the PM E-Drive electric vehicle subsidy scheme offering upfront incentives for purchase and supporting the installation of critical EV charging infrastructure.

It is offering Rs 3,679 crore in subsidies and demand incentives to accelerate the adoption of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, e-ambulances, e-trucks, and other emerging EVs.

It has replaced previous flagship initiatives such as the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) policy, which expired in March, and the three-month Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), which ended on September 30, 2024.

This new initiative would fund 24.79 lakh electric two-wheelers, 3.16 lakh electric three-wheelers, and 14,028 e-buses, with Rs 500 crore for the overall budget for e-ambulances, in addition to Rs 4,391 crore being allocated for purchase.

How does PM E-Drive work?

Convenience Energy Services Limited will provide upfront incentives facilitating the establishment of essential charging infrastructure in nine cities— Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad, and supporting intercity and interstate e-buses in consultation with states.

One can get the e-vouchers which need to be signed by the buyer submitted to the dealer and uploaded on the PM E-DRIVE portal via: https://pmedrive.heavyindustries.gov.in/

ii. e-AMRIT:

India launched ‘E-Amrit’, a web portal on electric vehicles (EVs) at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

Developed by NITI Aayog, the portal provides information on EV adoption, purchase, investment opportunities, policies, and subsidies.

Additionally, it complements the UK government’s initiatives to raise awareness and sensitise consumers to EV benefits.

One can visit the official portal: https://www.india.gov.in/spotlight/e-amrit-accelerated-e-mobility-revolution-indias-transportation to seek all the information about EVs in India.

iii. States providing EV Subsidy:

According to Niti Aayog and Writ India, about ₹7,000 crore of purchase EV subsidies is offered by states across India; find the table below to know the amount provided:

Source: Niti Aayog

Telangana:

• Offers 100% exemption on road tax for 200,000 electric two-wheelers (E-2Ws), 20,000 electric three-wheelers (E-3Ws), 5,000 electric four-wheelers (E-4Ws), and 500 electric buses.
• Provides a retrofitting incentive of 15% of the retrofitting cost, capped at ₹15,000 per vehicle, for 5,000 e-autos.

Delhi:

• The Delhi government introduced the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy in August 2020 to accelerate the transition to battery-electric vehicles.
• Grants a scrapping incentive of ₹5,000 for electric two-wheelers (E-2Ws) and ₹7,500 for electric three-wheelers (E-3Ws).
• Offers an interest subvention of 5% for commercial E-3Ws, e-carts, and e-carriers for loans from the Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC) and other approved finance providers.

Odisha: Implemented an open permit system for electric autos.

Punjab: Proposed the establishment of special green zones in targeted cities to promote e-mobility initiatives.

Bihar: Provided toll fee waivers for electric vehicles (EVs) on select state highways.

*Inputs from Niti Aayog’s PPT ‘Overview of State Electric Vehicle Policies’*