The government is reportedly planning to scrap subsidy currently offered to buyers of electric cars. According to industry experts this move will further reduce the sales of private electric cars.
TOI citing policy-makers reports that the government has decided to give cash subsidies to electric vehicles used by shared-mobility operators such as Ola and Uber, “as their vehicles will run much more than private cars”.
The publication citing official sources reports that government is looking to withdraw the cash subsidies for private electric cars as it is neither making a considerable difference in promoting sales nor serving the purpose of a clean environment.
As part of its clean-energy programme FAME, the government is currently offering a discount of up to Rs 1.3 lakh on an electric car, however, this is being proposed to be removed in the FAME II draft policy drawn up by the heavy industries ministry.
Integrating cab aggregators to the list of subsidy beneficiaries would prompt companies like Ola and Uber to rope in electric cars, which offer highly-lucrative running costs as compared with conventional diesel/petrol or CNG alternatives. Speaking to the publication another source said “The maximum utility for the maximum number of people will be through public transport.”
However, this is contrary to government’s vision of broader e-mobility. The government had said it wants the entire car industry in India to switch to electric by year 2030.
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