Odisha govt drafts new EV Policy targeting 50 per cent adoption by 2030

Bhubaneswar, Sep 10 (PTI) The Odisha government has drafted a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy-2025, targeting at least 50 per cent electric vehicles in all new registrations by 2030.

The transport department notified the draft EV Policy-2025 on Tuesday, introducing new strategic interventions aimed at scaling up EV adoption, expanding the scope of eligible vehicles, incentivising private participation in charging infrastructure and leveraging real-time data for effective implementation.

Aligned with these national efforts, the Odisha Electric Policy, 2021, came into force in September 2021, with an objective of the adoption of 20 per cent EVs in the next four years, a transport department official said.

"However, the target could not be achieved as only around 9 per cent EV adoption took place during this period. Therefore, the state government decided to implement a new policy to boost the sector," he said.

According to the official, the new draft policy strengthens existing adoption mechanisms, incorporates high-emission vehicle segments, and aligns with the central government’s Net Zero 2070 decarbonisation roadmap.

As part of the broader Odisha Vision 2036 & 2047, the state also aims to achieve 70 per cent electric and alternative fuel vehicle sales by 2036 and 80 per cent by 2047.

Under the proposed policy that will remain in force till 2030, the government enhanced the incentives provided for four-wheeler light motor vehicles (transport) or taxis from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, the official informed.

The government would also provide an incentive of Rs 20 lakh for registration of each electric bus, he added.

Incentives for other transport vehicles have also been revised. There will be a Rs 5 lakh incentive for vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonne and less than 7.5 tonne, and Rs 7 lakh, Rs 16 lakh, Rs 18 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for vehicles weighing less than 12 tonne, 18.5 tonne, 35 tonne and 55 tonne, respectively.

According to the policy document, EV benefits will be extended to individuals who are permanent residents of Odisha, and each beneficiary can claim purchase incentives once for each vehicle segment.

The policy also proposes a dedicated corpus of Rs 15 crore to fund research and development (R&D) activities. PTI BBM BBM MNB