Odisha govt to enhance subsidy for registration of EV two-wheelers to Rs 30,000

Bhubaneswar, Sep 11 (PTI) The Odisha government has decided to enhance the subsidy provided for registration of electric two-wheelers from the existing Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 to boost the segment, an official said on Thursday.

The government has incorporated this provision under its new draft Electric Vehicle Policy-2025, which will be implemented for a period of five years after receiving feedback and suggestions from stakeholders concerned, the transport official told PTI.

As per the draft policy, the government would provide an incentive at a rate of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity on registration of an electric two-wheeler in Odisha with a cap of Rs 30,000. Earlier, the maximum amount was Rs 20,000.

"As high battery capacity EV scooters and two-wheelers have come to the market now, we have decided to enhance the subsidy amount accordingly," the official said.

Apart from two-wheelers, the government also provides subsidies for battery-operated three-wheelers, four-wheelers, taxis, trucks and buses.

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

The government would also provide an incentive of Rs 20 lakh for registration of electric buses, 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 in each vehicle segment.

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

The Odisha Electric Policy, 2021, which came into effect in September 2021, had an objective that EVs made up 20 per cent of the fresh registrations over the next four years, he said.

"However, the target could not be achieved, and the percentage was only nine during this period. Hence, the government decided to implement the new policy to boost the sector," he said.

Under the proposed policy, the state is targeting that EVs make up 50 per cent of the new registrations by 2030. PTI BBM BBM ACD