NEW DELHI:
India’s cabinet approved a program to spend 109 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) on incentives for the adoption of electric vehicles as part of its efforts to reduce pollution and move towards cleaner fuels.
The PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement, or PM E-DRIVE, program will provide subsidies worth Rs 36.79 billion to electric two-wheelers, electric three-wheelers, electric ambulances and electric trucks , said Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at a press conference. press briefing Wednesday.
Adoption of electric vehicles is still low in India, but is increasing as the government promotes clean energy, offering companies incentives to build vehicles and parts in the country.
Initially, Rs 5 billion will be distributed to deploy electric ambulances under this scheme, according to a government statement.
The replacement of trucks – a major source of air pollution in the country – will be boosted by an outlay of Rs 5 billion on electric trucks. Additional subsidies will be provided in exchange for scrapping old trucks.
It was not immediately clear whether the system would also apply to cars.
The government said it has also set aside Rs43.91 billion for public transport agencies to purchase 14,028 electric buses.
India’s Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday urged automakers to set up scrappage centers to remove polluting vehicles from the roads, adding that the move could increase vehicle sales by 18-20%.
Electric models accounted for less than 2% of the 4.2 million cars sold in India last year, but the government wants to increase this share to 30% by 2030.
The new program will also focus on improving charging infrastructure in the country and encourage testing of new technologies.
The main objective of the program “is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by providing initial incentives for their purchase, as well as facilitating the establishment of essential charging infrastructure for electric vehicles”, said the government.
