union minister Nitin Gadkari says that the Govt aims for natural shift to electric mobility
New Delhi : The Centre has not set any deadline for automobile manufactures to switch to electric mobility or to ban production of petrol, diesel vehicles, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.
“There is no deadline as of now. The shift towards electric vehicle will happen in natural progression,” Gadkari said. However, the government will continue to promote cleaner, sustainable and alternative fuel, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has been aggressively pushing for a switch to zero-emission driven, cleaner and a cost-effective mode of transport. It wants India to become a global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, giving a push to Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign and a reduction in the country’s fuel import bill.
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in a closed door meeting on 21 June, expressed its intent to impose a ban on conventional two-wheelers under 150 cc by 2025, and three wheelers by 2023. Amid resistance from automobile makers, NITI Aayog asked them to spell out a plan for adoption of electric mobility.
The government has also been trying to incentivise the adoption of EVs by reducing tax on such vehicles and their chargers to 5% from 12% and 18%, respectively. Besides, in the Union Budget presented in July, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several incentives to boost electric mobility, including income tax rebate for buyers, bringing down import duty on certain parts of electric vehicles, among others.
