NITI calls for EV purchase subsidy in addition to FAME-II subsidy

NITI Aayog recently said that the Government of India should provide incentives on purchase of electric vehicles over and above existing subsidies being provided under FAME II scheme. Also, it has recommended to provide interest subvention on loan amount taken for Electric Vehicle purchases.

What are the recommendations made by NITI Aayog?

• Apart from interest subvention and additional subsidies, NITI Aayog has also recommended to create non-financial incentives. This includes exclusive parking for Electric Vehicles in commercial complexes, priority lanes for EVs.
• The NITI Aayog has also recommended that the Green Zones should be demarcated within cities that permit only electric Vehicles.
• The think tank says that heavy taxes should be charged on conventional fuel vehicles.
• Green corridors should be created that allow only E-Buses.
• A National Level Policy should be formulated to incentivise distribution utilities that are investing on EV charging infrastructure.
• The Financial Institutions in the country should be encouraged to extend their lending facility to the Electric Mobility sector.
• The charging infra developer should allocate a portion of the land for open public amenities such as food zones, cafeteria, etc. Such provisions have been included in the Madhya Pradesh EV Policy.
• The Electricity Regulator should be mandated to provide a mechanism to approve rate-basing of utility investments in building EV Charging infrastructure.

Why were the recommendations made?

The Government had notified National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, 2020 that aims to increase domestic manufacturing capacities of EV. Also, the FAME II scheme was launched to stimulate the EV market. In spite of all these measures, the share of EVs in the total sale of vehicle sales in the country is just 1%. Therefore, NITI Aayog has come up with these recommendations.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2021