13,92,265 electric vehicles are currently running on Indian roads: Govt

India

oi-Prakash KL

New Delhi, Aug 05: The Centre on Friday said that 13,92,265 Electric Vehicles (EVs) are currently on the Indian roads.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar informed that the highest number of electric vehicles in India is three-wheeler.

As per data available with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, out of 13,92,265 Electric Vehicles in the country, 7,93,370 are three-wheeler, 5,44,643 are two-wheeler and 54,252 are four-wheeler and above. The numbers mentioned are as of August 3.

According to the data, the sale of EVs in FY 2021-22 has gone up over three times as compared to sale of EVs in FY 2020-21 from to 1,34,460. The minister informed the parliament that the government has taken a number of steps to boost the adoption of electric vehicles in the country.

The government on 12th May, 2021 approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) in the country in order to bring down prices of battery in the country.

Drop in battery prices will result in cost reduction of electric vehicles. Electric Vehicles are eligible for incentives under PLI scheme for Automobile and auto Components, which was approved on 15th September 2021 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 25,938 crore for a period of five years. GST on electric vehicles has been reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent; GST on chargers/ charging stations for electric vehicles has been reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) announced that battery-operated vehicles will be given green license plates and be exempted from permit requirements. MoRTH issued a notification advising states to waive road tax on EVs, which in turn will help reduce the initial cost of EVs, the minister informed.