India to roll-out e-vehicle policy in FY2017-18

The Dollar Business Bureau

By 2030, India plans to make a 100% shift to electric vehicles, and occupy the position of a global leader in the new-age e-vehicle industry. To realise this ambition, the government is working towards a comprehensive plan which will usher the start of a green era much earlier.

In this context, power and coal Minister Piyush Goyal said that a robust policy for the promotion of e-vehicles is in the pipeline.

“Niti Aayog has drawn up certain ideas but the project is being looked after by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. I am sure that will have all discussions and come up with a robust policy because we want to encourage domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles,” the Minister said, adding that a policy is likely to be released in the current fiscal.

The Minister is on a visit to Vienna, attending the India-Austria Business Forum organised collectively by the Indian embassy in Austria, FICCI, and the Austrian Economic Chambers. The vision of an all-electric fleet of vehicles by 2030, if realised, will greatly help India reduce its dependence on fuel imports – slashing India's import bill to a large extent.

To fast-track full-scale commercialisation of electric cars, the government will aggressively promote research and development in the sector, and soon replace all the vehicles used by the ministries and the PSUs with electric automobiles.

Goyal hinted that companies like Energy Efficiency Services Limited will be shortlisted for the gargantuan task of modernising the government's mode of commute. He added that the government is confident about the cost of the new vehicles being comparable with that of currently used petrol or diesel-run cars.

Just as the government had helped Maruti pioneer an expansive auto industry in India, players in the electric auto industry will receive government support for the first few years to help them establish themselves as self-sustainable businesses.