Electronic Vehicles

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) 2010 subsidy scheme was India’s first attempt to incentivize EV sales. The National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) was established in 2011 for promoting electric mobility and EV manufacturing. Subsequently, in 2012, the National Automotive Board (NAB) was set up to implement EV policies.  

The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), 2013, set ambitious targets of deploying 5–7 million EVs by 2020, emphasizing demand incentives, R&D, and collaboration between industry and academia to lower vehicular emissions. It also outlined a vision to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles. 

The launch of FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) Phase I in 2015 was a turning point for policy. The scheme offered subsidies, advocated pilot projects, and laid out plans for setting up charging infrastructure to promote EV adoption. In 2016, the government initiated the Technology Platform for Electric Mobility (TPEM) to support R&D in EV technologies. It announced an ambitious target of achieving 100% e-mobility by 2030 which was later revised to 30% e-mobility by 2030 in 2018. During 2018, the government also clarified that charging infrastructure for EVs would not require a license, and amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules allowed retrofitting conventional vehicles into EVs. 

The Electric Vehicle Mission, approved in 2018 under the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), facilitated the adaptation of EV production to Indian requirements and promoted multi-stakeholder consultations for standardization. Policy measures in 2018 included the notification of EV Charging Guidelines and Standards, amendments to Model Building Bye-laws 2016 and Urban Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines 2014 to integrate EV infrastructure.  

FAME Phase II was launched in 2019, with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore, focused on electrifying public and shared transport, targeting 7,090 e-buses, 5 lakh e-3 wheelers, 55,000 e-4 wheeler passenger cars, and 10 lakh e-2 wheelers, along with building a robust charging network. The Ministry of Power issued revised guidelines for EV charging infrastructure in 2019, mandating one charging station every 3 km in cities and every 25 km on highways. Additionally, the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, chaired by NITI Aayog, announced phased manufacturing programs for EV components and batteries.  

In January 2020, the Department of Heavy Industry approved the roll out of 2636 EV charging stations to support Phase II of FAME. In June 2020, the Amendment to the “Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles – Guidelines and Standards” capped tariff applicable to EV public charging. Efforts to scale EV adoption continued with significant developments in 2020, including the Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP) focused on localizing EV component production.  

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the automotive sector, introduced in 2021, allocated ₹25,938 crores to boost EV manufacturing, while the PLI for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage aimed to enhance domestic battery production with an ₹18,100 crore budget. In 2022 and 2023, the Ministry of Power issued revised guidelines for EV charging, including affordable tariffs, residential charging provisions, and technical standards for public stations.   

In 2024, the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India (SPMEPCI) was approved to attract global investments and position India as a manufacturing hub under the “Make in India” initiative. The Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme, 2024, introduced additional measures to accelerate sustainable mobility.