Niti Aayog asks states to promote e-vehicles

BENGALURU: To promote Electric Vehicles (EVs), the Centre has called upon all state governments to exempt vehicle owners from payment of Registration Fee and Road Tax. This is part of the Centre’s initiative to popularise usage of electric vehicles in the country.

The government’s policy think tank, Niti Aayog, on Thursday organised a joint video conference from New Delhi with all state governments in line with its goal of having at least 30% of the vehicles plying in the country in 2031 as e-vehicles. Top transport and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) officials took part in the conference beamed live at Vidhana Soudha.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, a senior government official who took part in the deliberations said, “The Centre has asked all states to do away with both Registration fee as well as Road Tax to incentivise the public to purchase them.” The state is yet respond to it, he added.

“Niti Aayog officials also urgently called upon all states to put in place an e-mobility policy at the earliest which Karnataka has already done,” he added. Karnataka became the first state in India to adopt the State Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017. “While Karnataka does not levy any Road Tax on e-vehicles, the state levies Rs 500 as a one-time registration fee for four-wheelers and Rs 300 for two-wheelers,” an official from the transport department said.

In line with its rigorous pursuit of switching over to e-vehicles, an official statement from the state government this week announced that it would purchase 640 electric vehicles under the Central government’s Faster Adoption of Manufacture of Hybrid and Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) India.