Union And State Governments Meeting Auto Industry To Promote EVs, On December 4

Mahendra Nath Pandey, Heavy Industries Minister, and transport ministers from many states, along with top auto-industry insiders are set to meet at Goa, today, on December 4. They will discuss ways how to promote Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India in a more intensified way. The government will also discuss how the EV segment can attract more investments in the country.

About the event, a government official told the media, "Ministers of transport and chief secretaries/ senior officers from states, industry leaders from the automotive sector, start-ups, and technical experts have been invited to participate."

EVs are getting attention from industry insiders, governments, and common buyers for multiple reasons. Firstly, the government is realizing that climate change is rising as a major challenge for the country, and a better market base of EVs can mitigate the climate change issue in long term. The government is now focused on the manufacturing of EVs, batteries, and high-technology automotive components in India.

EVs are generally much more costly than petrol cars. So, common buyers have not shown quite an interest. But with a rising petrol price, there are great scopes for EVs. But India now needs more EV-friendly infrastructures, so if people are buying more EVs, they can use the cars with ease.

At present, the ministry is executing 3 key schemes with a total outlay of Rs. 54,038 crore for the sector. These schemes are Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India II (FAME India II); National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell; and Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Automobile and Auto Components.

The first scheme is being implemented with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore to incentivize demand for EVs. The second scheme with an outlay of Rs. 18,100 crore, aims at incentivizing the setting up of manufacturing facilities in the country. A government official told the media, "It will reduce the import bills of ACC by Rs. 1,50,000 crore. Request for proposal (RFP) has been issued on October 22, 2021, for inviting proposals from domestic and international manufacturers for setting up manufacturing facilities for ACC Battery Storage in India."