With rising pollution levels and indiscriminate mining of natural resources affecting the environment on a global scale, countries across the world have been pushing for sustainable solutions for both public and private commute systems.
Electric vehicles or simply EVs are undoubtedly one of the best solutions we have. In last few years, more and more EV manufacturers from across the globe have entered the Indian markets.
But despite widespread awareness about their advantages to the environment, why hasn’t the sale of e-bikes or e-cars gotten any better? The reason is that EV’s are expensive.
However, that is all set to change starting April 1, with prices of EVs slashing down by Rs 20,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh! Thanks to Niti Aayog, whose recent proposal of giving purchase rebate as incentive to buyers got the Centre’s approval.
The goal behind such a move is to break free from India’s dependency on imported fuel as well as curb down our collective carbon footprint of fuel-driven vehicles.
“The incentivisation mechanism under FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicle) would bring upfront price parity between internal combustion engine and electric vehicles and since the operating cost of EV is considerably lower than ICE, the ecosystem is bound to flourish at an unprecedented rate,” NITI Aayog said in a statement.
The Heavy Industries Ministry put together the FAME scheme originally launched in 2016 to promote eco-friendly vehicles in the country. The current proposal by NITI Aayog includes the phase II of the scheme.
As prospective customers, here’s what is in store for all of us:
1. The Union cabinet has approved an incentive of Rs 10,000 per kWh (Kilowatt hour) to purchase e-vehicles (EV) directly linked to battery size under the FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicle) scheme.
2. This will mean savings of Rs 20,000-40,000 for two-wheelers that are fitted with 2-4 kWh battery, Rs 50,000-100,000 for three-wheelers with 5-10 kWh battery and lastly, Rs 1.5-2.5 lakh for four-wheelers with 15-25 kWh battery.
3. By subsidising EV sales, the government intends to help the nascent EV industry in India grow and become self-sustainable with increased sales. In the hindsight, the scheme would also help the Centre contain the fuel import bill and with that, India’s heavy dependency on imported fuel.
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4. The Centre has already sanctioned a budget of Rs 10,000 crores for the next three years starting April this year. Their estimated target is to incentivise buyers of more than 1.5 million vehicles and they plan on making EVs account for 15 per cent of total vehicle sales by the end of the stipulated period.
5. What is more, about 2,700 public charging stations of 3kmx3km dimensions per grid are in the immediate pipeline across metros and large cities. Also, all major highways are set to have charging stations set across every 25 km.
(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)
Featured Image Source: Wikimedia Commons.
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