In a bid to push EVs in the country, Finance Ministry has asked all government departments to switch over their hired cars from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles.
This move will affect large number of petrol and diesel vehicles already hired by different departments in the government as leases come up for renewal. In last few years, cars needed for government officials have increased, as individual vehicles are allotted to even low-ranking officers. Also, to maintain the manpower and to cut down the costs, the government departments have started taking the vehicles on lease instead of purchasing except for the top-notch ministers and top-ranking officials.
The move is in line with government’s policy of having 30% of these environment friendly electric vehicles on road by 2030.
However, government’s early experiment of inducting 10,000 electric vehicles faced some technical glitches like charging infrastructure and maintenance cost. In fact second tender for next 10,000 has not been issued because manufacturers are yet to complete the first order.
Indian government is taking a number of steps to propel EV adoption in the country, . Most recently, it increased the outlay for the first phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) scheme to Rs. 895 Cr.
Government is also looking to offer much awaited subsidies for all the electric vehicles under FAME II.