India, this week, took yet another step towards popularizing electric mobility in the country. After setting ambitious short- and long-term targets for electric vehicles on Indian roads, India is now looking to address the barriers that hinder adoption.

In an effort to make electric vehicles more attractive to consumers, the Transport Ministry has proposed to exempt the payment of fees for issuing or renewing registration certificates for EVs, as well as any fee for assigning a new registration mark. The ministry has invited comments from various stakeholders on a draft notification, and when approved, Rule no. 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 will be amended to include this exemption. This would apply to all EVs across India, superseding any state policies in this regard.

This is one among many incentives introduced by the central government to encourage EV sales. Last year, the Centre approved the sale and registration of electric two- and three-wheelers without batteries, to reduce costs and boost the battery swapping industry. It introduced the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) – II, where it is extending financial support of ₹8,730 Crores for 3 years, focusing mostly on deploying electric buses across India. So far, 5595 electric buses have been sanctioned to 64 cities, majority of which are for intra-city transport.

At least 15 Indian states have approved of draft EV policies that particularly focus on incentives and subsidies to reduce EV costs and make them lucrative, and enhancing charging infrastructure to enable convenience for consumers.  Such initiatives go a long way in encouraging consumers and help India inch closer towards an e-mobility future. As per NITI Aayog, making India’s passenger mobility shared, electric and connected by 2030, will reduce energy demand by 64% and carbon emissions by 37%. This would result in a reduction of 156 million tonnes of oil equivalent in diesel and petrol consumption for that year, which at $52 a barrel, would imply a net saving of about Rs 3.9 lack crore in 2030.