The Hindu Businessline

A fintech digital lending start-up, it is building an advanced platform to underwrite and manage consumer loans through its own non-banking finance company. To target climate change, it provides loans for the financing of e-rickshaws and e-scooters.

Hindustan Times

State-run Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), which was tasked with procuring 10,000 electric cars for government departments by January 31 this year, has been granted a year’s extension, owing to lack of demand for their deployment to replace diesel- and petrol-fuelled vehicles in existing fleets, according to the ministry of power.

Business Standard

At a time when Royal Dutch Shell plans to become the world’s biggest power company in the next 15 years and is focusing on a future after fossil fuels, the Netherlands-based firm is increasingly engaging with young energy technology companies in India.

Business Standard

It is sad that your editorial (30 July) looks at only the dark and negative side of the government’s audacious plan to stop production of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. Coming from an opinion making and highly respected economic daily, it is bound to create serious doubts in the thinking of the people and will further erode the chances of success of this programme that promises huge long term benefits of containing pollution and mitigating the deadly march of climate change.

Livemint

Founders of electric vehicle (EV) startups in India have said that the raft of government incentives offered to electric vehicle sellers should also be extended to component manufacturers to encourage them to build factories in India. In addition, goods and services tax imposed on components for electric vehicles should be reduced to strengthen the cash flow for such companies.

ET Energyworld

The Indian economy is currently on its way to becoming one of the fastest developing countries, and is expected to be valued at $3 trillion, this year itself. Furthermore, with consistent investment towards infrastructural and policy reformations, India is, in fact, projected to grow into a $5 trillion economy, within the next few years.

ET Auto

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Monday said an inter-ministerial panel has sanctioned 5,645 electric buses for operations in 65 cities, a move seen towards environment-friendly mobility. Last week, the GST Council headed by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman decided to cut the tax rates on e-vehicles from 12 per cent to 5 per cent with effect from August 1.

Livemint

As the automobile industry lobbies hard against a proposal of Niti Aayog and Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, to impose a blanket ban on petrol, diesel fuelled two- and three-wheelers by 2023 and 2025, respectively, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified that the Centre was yet to set a deadline for such a move.

Business Insider

Indian car makers are in dire straits. Sales have been falling for eight straight months now with no respite in sight. A weaker economy, rising unemployment and pessimism among consumers have led to a steady fall in demand for discretionary products like cars.

Moneycontrol

The Modi government, through the NITI Aayog, is evolving a policy aimed at making India a global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles (EVs) and speed up the transition to such vehicles. The government think tank does not want to leave this transition to market forces and has recommended making three-wheelers mandatory from 2023, and two-wheelers with up to 150cc engines mandatory by 2025.

Business Standard

Bad news just doesn’t seem to stop for automobile counters. While on one hand the government decided to cut goods and services tax (GST) on electric vehicles (EVs) from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, and on EV chargers from 18 per cent to 5 per cent over the weekend, there is a proposal to hike registration fee for new vehicles. As per the notification, buyers will have to shell out Rs 5,000 for registering new diesel and petrol cars, as compared to Rs 600 charged registration fee and renewal charge now.

The Times of India

Anil Saboo is chairman of the country’s largest exhibition on the electrical sector, Elecrama, which has been held biennially since 1990. An executive council member of IEEMA, he also serves as MD of Elektrolites. Here, he talks to TOI about his plans for the upcoming Elecrama from trying to rope in US EV maker Tesla as a participant to fostering technological tie-ups for the country’s MSMEs in the electric space. Excerpts:

The Economic Times

India, famous for its affordable entry-level cars, remains the only major market without a genuine electric vehicle. The market share of electric vehicles in the country stands at a mere 0.06%, compared with over 30% in a number of developed nations, government figures show. But that could soon change — the country’s plans to go big on electric vehicles may now have finally been put on the fast lane.

Business Standard

Auto industry body SIAM on Saturday said there is a need for a long-term unambiguous electric vehicles (EVs) road map while welcoming reduction in GST on EVs and chargers and reiterated the need for government intervention to stimulate demand to enable the auto industry to overcome the current slowdown.

The Economic Times

The auto industry on Saturday welcomed the reduction in GST on electric vehicles (EVs) and chargers, saying it will help in creating an ecosystem that will encourage faster mass adoption of eco-friendly mobility. While terming the step as yet another bold move, the manufacturers, specially electric two-wheeler makers, sought similar reduction of 18 per cent GST on spare batteries, claiming it would help maintain low running cost of EVs over their lifetime.

The Times of India

Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) is all set to become electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries manufacturing cluster, according to top officials of Gujarat government. The state government officials are in talks with Indian as well as foreign companies in the e-vehicle and battery manufacturing sector that have shown interest in setting up manufacturing facility in DSIR.

Times Now

Uttar Pradesh transport minister Swatantradev Singh on Sunday said electric vehicles are the need of the hour and the future belongs to them. “Electric vehicles have many advantages. Less consumption of diesel and petrol will not only reduce pollution, it will also save foreign currency which is used to import the fuel,” Singh said at a session on electric mobility at the second groundbreaking ceremony for industrial projects worth Rs 65,000 crore here.

The Economic Times

The decision to reduce GST on electric vehicles from 12% to 5% could help energise the EV sector and put more electric-powered vehicles on the road, but it will not do much to tackle pollution and congestion or improve mobility. Rather than tax breaks to stimulate demand for electric vehicles, the government should use its funds to make public transport more effective and to strengthen the grid, a vital necessity, and build a distributed charging infrastructure for electric-powered mobility.

Business Today

India has put in place a game plan for electric vehicles (EV) and its components like batteries to ensure clean cities, reduce imports and utilise solar power, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said in Ahmedabad on Saturday. He said domestic battery manufacturing for electric vehicles provides a “massive market opportunity”, and also quickens the transition to such environment-friendly transport, which is vital for the country to help combat pollution, congestion, strengthen energy security and create jobs.

The Times of India

The GST Council on Saturday decided to reduce GST rate on electrical vehicles (EVs) from 12 per cent to 5 per cent and on EV chargers from 18 per cent to 5 per cent from August 1, 2019, an official statement said after the 36th meeting of the council. The move is aimed at accelerating the adoption of eco-friendly mobility solutions. The Council also approved GST exemption for hiring of electric buses by local authorities.

ET Auto

Indian three-wheeler industry is facing headwinds after experiencing growth for two consecutive years, majorly due to the NBFC crisis impacting the financing avenues available for the segment, ICRA ratings has revealed in a release. The industry had grown by 24% and 37% respectively during FY2018 and H1 FY2019. The segment experienced dream run in both domestic and export markets, supported primarily by relaxation of the permit regime in certain key states in India.

The Economic Times

The meeting of the GST Council on Thursday, which was to decide on cutting tax rates on electric vehicles, has been postponed as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was pre-occupied in Parliament, officials said. The 36th GST Council meeting, which was to be held through video conferencing, had only one item in the agenda and that was to consider Centre’s proposal to slash GST rates to 5 per cent from 12 per cent on e-vehicles.

CNBC TV18

Most of us fancy autonomous cars because we actually like to drive, yet we are wary of buying electric vehicles (EVs) because we don’t understand how the car works or the technology behind the vehicles. That’s where the self-drive rental platform Zoomcar comes in, aiming to make the future of mobility more connected, shared and powered by zero-emission technologies.

The Economic Times

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) said on Thursday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida) to install around 100 public charging stations. “We are constantly striving to make NOIDA cleaner, greener and more sustainable. Establishing a public charging infrastructure in the city will greatly augment these efforts and will spur EV adoption in the city. With this partnership with EESL, we envisage the eMobility movement to gain traction in the city,” Noida chairman Alok Tandon said.

The Economic Times

India’s subsidies to petrol and diesel between October 2018 and June 2019 amounted to almost three times the three-year government budget for electric vehicle (EV) support, a new study revealed on Thursday. The study by Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) said the government could redirect the money collected in tax via petrol and diesel towards EVs and see far more growth.

The Hindu

The Tamil Nadu government, which is chalking out an electric vehicle policy to provide infrastructure for vehicles across the State, has prepared a draft and will unveil it before the end of August. The draft provides a slew of incentives to those promoting e-vehicles.

Financial Express

The GST Council on Thursday will consider the proposal to cut tax rate on electric vehicles (EVs) to 5% from 12% currently, a move that will align with the government’s push to make non-fossil fuel transport lucrative to buyers. The Council, chaired by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, would meet for the 36th time via video-conferencing.

Business Standard

West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra on said on Wednesday that the move towards rolling out electric vehicles (EV) in the country needs to be done in a calibrated manner, while lowering existing GST rates on BS VI-complaint and hybrid vehicles. Mitra said that instead of giving a sudden push to EVs, the Centre should focus on the entire eco-system of the automobile industry and implement a sustainable transition in adoption of EVs, without loss in employment or setback to the auto sector.

Over Drive

The Modi Sarkar is in a real hurry to usher in electric vehicles or EVs in our country. Reports suggest that it may stop the sale of the internal combustion engine (ICE) powered three-wheelers by as soon as 2023 and two-wheelers with ICE engines of less than 150cc capacity, by 2025! The Indian government may also make it mandatory that at least 40 per cent of the vehicles of taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber, are electric by 2026, and only electric vehicles are sold in India by 2030!

The Hindu Businessline

One industry far from software services is electric vehicles. Bengaluru’s got a fleet of auto­ makers targeting that market like scooter­maker Ather Energy, EV­ mo­torbike manufacturer Emfux and Altigreen, which made the electric Tata Ace and the Piaggio Ape. And, crucially, there’s Micelio, a fund floated by former Infosys CEO SD Shibulal’s family office investing exclusively in electric mobility.

India Times

Electric vehicles are gaining preference over other modes of transport, especially in the logistics industry in India. The benefits of running an EV, coupled with incentives given by the government to boost their use is proving useful for e-commerce and the related logistics firms. Hence, many have already announced their plans to add EVs in their fleet in considerable numbers. Grofers, has now joined the bandwagon, having said that it is aiming to deploy 500 electric vehicles within this year.

Business Today

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday made a strong pitch in Lok Sabha for the passage of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, saying it will weed out corruption, improve road safety and usher in the use of more technology to regulate traffic. The Congress, however, accused the Union government of trying to curtail powers of states with the proposed changes in law and also claimed that it will bring in privatisation in the sector.

Livemint

Taking a cue from other e-commerce firms, Grofers is joining the electric vehicle bandwagon. The online grocery startup said on Monday that it is looking to deploy 500 electric vehicles for its last-mile delivery by the end of this year. This comes at a time when the central government has been pushing towards the use of electric vehicles. While Grofers started piloting with electric vans last year by deploying 50 vehicles in Delhi, it is only now that the firm is taking serious steps in this direction.

ET Auto

Motor morphosis – Connected, Autonomus, Shared & Electric (CASE). These four megatrends are revolutionizing today’s automotive industry at a speed, that probably the term “CAR” won’t be heard 30 years from now. What the trends described above have in common is their contribution to an unprecedented explosion in vehicle generated digital data with significant impact not only across traditional auto industry but for new age tech players also.

The News Minute

The Modi government has made it abundantly clear that it wants an electric vehicle-future in India, and has set targets for it. All three-wheelers manufactured in India would have to be electric by 2023, two-wheelers with an engine capacity of up to 150cc manufactured in India should be electric by 2025, and 30% of cars sold after 2030 should be electric.

ET Energyworld

Over the last few decades, the demand for electricity has grown considerably in India and many other developing countries. In 2018, India’s annual gross electricity generation reached 1486.5 TWh, with about 79% of this generation produced from fossil fuel combustion.

The Hindu

The State government will formulate a policy to allow large housing societies to offer their premises for construction of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. A team of senior officials at NITI Aayog on Friday offered the government a wish list on the implementation of the Electric Vehicle Policy under the Central government’s mobility plan.

Hindustan Times

The process to formulate a policy for the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in Haryana has finally got off the ground with the state government completing the first round of consultation with the stakeholders recently. State transport minister Krishan Lal Panwar on Saturday said that the next round, which is likely to take place by next month, will deal with infrastructure issues.

Livemint

The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet on July 25 and decide on lowering tax rates for electric vehicles, officials said. The 36th meeting of the Council, which will happen through video conferencing, is also likely to decide the valuation of goods and services in solar power generating systems and wind turbine projects for the purposes of levying GST.

The New Indian Express

Over the past few weeks, the interest level around EVs (Electric vehicles) has suddenly increased in the country, thanks to the recent budget announcement by the finance minister about promoting electric mobility, by reducing GST for EVs to 5 per cent and allowing income tax benefits for EV buyers.

Times Now

With the continuously growing demand for eco-friendly vehicles, automakers have been mulling to launch more and more electric cars in the near time. In order to push the consumption of a product which can benefit the consumer, as well as, the environment, the government and local bodies keep on introducing certain relaxations and benefits. Now, the government seems in a moment to promote the consumption of electric vehicles.

Financial Express

In order to curb the increasing air pollution in the state of Odisha, the state government informed the assembly on Saturday that it is going to introduce electric buses in the urban areas of the state. These electric buses will first be introduced in the urban areas of Odisha. According to Ashok Chandra Panda, Science and Technology Minister, in the first phase, these electric buses are going to run in the temple town of Puri along with the city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

Deccan Chronicle

They have been in the news for quite some time now, but we still don’t see enough of them on Indian roads. Electric vehicles (EVs), if coupled with the right infrastructure, present a sustainable solution to air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels by petrol and diesel vehicles. Just imagine a city that operates solely on electric cars charged using solar energy.

Financial Express

The electric vehicle segment is a big opportunity for Indian manufactures and they should look at not only producing such models for the domestic market but also exports, Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said Wednesday. Speaking at the inaugural session of the ‘Entrepreneur 2019’, Kant also emphasised on the road map to make India a USD 10-trillion economy by 2030.

Moneycontrol

The government’s push for electric vehicles has hit the right chords with three-wheeler owners and fleet operators. In a first for any segment in the auto sector, the country now sells more electric three-wheelers than the conventional ones that run on petrol, diesel or CNG.

Livemint

Close on the heels of unveiling a host of incentives for electric vehicles, the Union government is now urging states to promote eco-friendly vehicles in an effort to curb rampant pollution afflicting most of the major cities. The ministry of road transport and highways has asked all states and Union territories (UTs) to provide incentives for electric vehicles (EVs).

BloombergQuint

India offers tax breaks and subsidy to buyers if they dump fossil-fuel driven cars and scooters and switch to electric vehicles as the nation looks to curb one of the world’s worst air pollution and reduce energy imports. But there’s one missing link.

The Hindu Businessline

Williom Hokinson, Acting Deputy High Commissioner, Hyderabad and First Secret­ ary, British Deputy High Com­ mission, Mumbai, said: “Sig­ ni?  cant research has gone into electric vehicles in the UK, and there is potential for businesses, academicians and various R&D institutions to collaborate and work to­ gether as we grow the market for EVs.”

Livemint

For Bengaluru-based Shubham Jain, 23, switching to an electric vehicle (EV) from a petrol car with an internal combustion (IC) engine (found in almost all cars, buses and motorcycles) has brought down the cost of daily commute considerably. The monthly commuting cost for Jain, who drives about 50km every day, has come down from ₹7,000 (fuel cost) to ₹1,500 (extra electricity bill), roughly.

ET Energyworld

Electric vehicles could be a better alternative to fuel-based automobiles to mitigate air pollution, but the government’s target to switch to e-vehicles in next 10 years is hard to achieve, TERI said, pointing out that consumers would need time to accept the change. By 2030, the government aims to make India a 100-per cent electric-vehicle nation.

The New Indian Express

Even though prices of petrol and diesel continue to rise, the city, it appears, is not ready for e-vehicles.This is evident, as based on the meagre number of e-vehicles in the city, many still do not prefer buying electric vehicles even though they come with multiple subsidies, apart from reducing burden of pollution on the environment.

Business Today

Come April 2020, you will have to pay more for petrol and diesel. This hike in cost will be implemented as fuel retailers look to pass on the higher cost of producing Bharat Stage VI-compliant fuel by early next year. Higher fuel costs will help state-run fuel retailers compensate for the investments they pumped in to upgrade their refineries so as to produce the cleaner fuel.

Financial Express

As part of NITI Aayog’s EV push in the country, three different electric vehicle battery (Li-ion) manufacturers with a combined capacity of 10 gigawatt are expected to set up their facilities in Telangana soon with an investment of Rs 1500 crore in the first phase. Director of Electronics, Telangana, Sujai Karampuri, withholding the names of the companies, said the construction of three different facilities is expected to begin in a month or two and production of the cells would begin between nine to 15 months after that.

The Economic Times

India must try out pilot projects for electric vehicles (EVs) in a few cities to prove their viability before adopting it across the country, said Volkmar Denner, Chairman of BoschNSE 0.02 %, the biggest supplier of power trains for EVs. “When the industry is resisting what the government wants to do, why don’t you try out the idea of several pilot projects, maybe pilot cities (for EVs), instead of (bringing) 100% IC (internal combustion) engines to zero,” said Denner on Tuesday.

ET Auto

The electric vehicle segment is a big opportunity for Indian manufacturers and they should look at not only producing such models for domestic market but also exports, Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said Wednesday. Speaking at the inaugural session of the ‘Entrepreneur 2019’, Kant also emphasised on the road map to make India a USD 10-trillion economy by 2030.

Telangana Today

Telangana State’s Electric Vehicle Policy will focus on incentives to increase the use of electric vehicles. The policy will complement the FAME II, which already covers support for the charging infrastructure, said Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan.

Autocar Professional

Bosch has inaugurated its expanded smart factory for mobility solutions in Bidadi (Phase II), which is located around 35km from Bangalore. The plant features latest Industry 4.0 solutions and carbon-neutral technology. “Bosch is taking a further step toward more efficient, more flexible, and sustainable manufacturing in India in order to boost competitiveness and meet rising demand in the local market,” said Dr Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH.

The Hindu Businessline

The recent Budget has a lot to say about EV — duty exemptions for imported lithium-ion batteries, move towards reduction of GST on EVs from 12 to 5 per cent, ?1.5 lakh tax deduction for interest paid on loans borrowed for buying electric vehicles and investment-linked incentives for manufacturing the vehicles (under Section 35AD of the Income Tax Act.)

Livemint

Will electric cars soon be within the reach of the average Indian car buyer? Hyundai has declared plans to invest ₹2,000 crore in India to roll out a ₹10-lakh electric car. Mahindra is expected to launch a micro SUV in the ₹8-9 lakh range next year.

Deccan Chronicle

While app-based cab aggregators have changed the way the city travels, the change has done nothing to ease the city’s growing air pollution woes. Electric vehicles are the most obvious solution but the shift is a major one and requires a change in consumer attitudes and the factors that influence them. These are complex questions and the factors that spur change are many, ranging from practical to cognitive.

Financial Express

The government has no plans to ban petrol and diesel vehicles in the near future but will continue to push for greater use of electric vehicles with a view to cut oil imports and save the environment, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Tuesday.

The Times of India

The government has invited proposals from entities for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in big and smart cities. Proposals are invited from entities that intend to develop EV charging infrastructure in million-plus cities as per the 2011 census; and smart cities as notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Ministry of Heavy Industries said.

ET Auto

FAME – II, range anxiety, compromised performance, expensive products, charging infrastructure – these are familiar terms, phrases and questions that are being thrown at the electric vehicle industry today. 2025 is suddenly the big year everyone is curious about.

The Economic Times

The government has invited proposals from entities for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in big and smart cities. Proposals are invited from entities that intend to develop EV charging infrastructure in million-plus cities as per the 2011 census; and smart cities as notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Ministry of Heavy Industries said.

ET Energyworld

EVs for Clunkers can achieve three important objectives for the government: accelerate EV’s sale, providing demand certainty to companies and boosting EV makers’ confidence; pull lakhs of polluting vehicles off the roads, helping clean up the air faster; and widen the EV buyers’ club.

The Hindu Businessline

To this end, the so­called FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) policy was an­ nounced for a period of three years with e?  ect from April 2019. The total amount allocated over this period is ? 10,000 crore, most of which is to be disbursed as a ‘demand incentive’.

The Hindu Businessline

Considering that automobile manufacturing accounts for about a half of overall manufacturing GDP in India (SIAM estimates), the Centre’s EV plan could cause a tec­ tonic shift in the industry, trigger­ ing massive job losses, factory shutdowns and other crises. In­ dia’s auto industry is among the largest in the world, with sales of 51 lakh units minus two­wheelers in 2018­19 (over 2.62 crore including two­wheelers).

The Hindu Businesline

The NDA government has proposed a two-phase transition to electrical vehicles (EVs) to bring down vehicular pollution in India’s town and cities. In the first phase, beginning 2025, it wants two- and three-wheelers with internal combustion engines (ICE) to be replaced with electric two- and three- wheelers with engine capacity of up to 150cc.

News18

India’s strong diesel demand growth is decoupling from the car market as motorists increasingly turn to gasoline vehicles, leaving it more reliant on patchy demand from construction and heavy industry. A slowdown in demand growth in India, one of Asia’s biggest diesel guzzlers, could add to a persistent glut of diesel in the region, fuelled in part by strong exports from China, and put pressure on regional refining profit margins.

ET Auto

Electric Vehicles (EVs) is the latest buzz in the automotive industry. Consumers, industry bodies and major automobile giants alike are anticipating the electrification of the sector while numerous start-ups have cropped up across the length and breadth of the country to turn the electric dream into a reality.

Business Standard

Electric vehicles are slowly, but evidently, becoming the flavour of the season. The Narendra Modi government has set an ambitious target of converting 15 per cent of the total vehicles in the country to electric by 2024. But how many electric vehicles do we even have currently? According to the transport ministry, nearly 400,000 registered electric vehicles run in India, reported The Times of India.

Inc42

The minister for road transport and highways of india and shipping ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, Nitin Gadkari, has now advocated use of eco-friendly alternative fuels to tackle air pollution. At the launch of TVS’ ethanol-based bike, Gadkari reportedly said that the government is focussing on various kinds of eco-friendly alternative fuels or biofuel, including ethanol and biodiesel.

Business Standard

Since the announcement of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 by the government, the one country that is alluded to with unfailing regularity in policy corridors, company’ boardrooms and various other forums and deliberations is China and for obvious reasons. The country is the world’s second largest manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs) after Norway.

The Times of India

Currently there are nearly four lakh registered electric or battery operated vehicles in India and half of them are in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, according to road transport ministry’s data. Sources said most of these vehicles are e-rickshaws and e-carts, which got legal status after Parliament passed a law in March 2015 to recognise these as motor vehicles.

Business Standard

The emphasis of the Centre and policy think tank NITI Aayog on the adoption of electric vehicles to cut emissions and slash oil import bill is likely to stoke ethanol doping in fuel as well. The NITI Aayog has proposed that only e-vehicles should be sold in India post 2025. Domestic manufacturers of vehicles, which predominantly run on petrol mixed with ethanol, are now looking at ways to concur with the central government’s environmental agenda without majorly disrupting existing capacities and product mix.

The Indian Express

On a muggy Tuesday morning last week, half-a-dozen Hyundai SUVs tailed a black pilot car zipping around the 5.14-km grid at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. In contrast to the last major international event here six years ago, when open-cockpit, single-seater Formula One cars had spun around the track with ear-splitting wails, the all-electric posse barely emitted a sound.

The Asian Age

India’s first ethanol-powered motorcycle was unveiled last week, so too an electric car by an international manufacturer based in India while a new electric scooter also hit the market. Electric vehicles (EVs) are clearly gaining traction, but not at a rate that could possibly meet the overambitious conversion target set by Niti Aayog, which said most recently that 2023 and 2025 should be the cut-off dates for three-wheelers and two-wheelers under 150 cc to go electric.

The Hindu

The government is now moving ahead with the procurement of 4,000 buses that will arrive by mid-2020 with a tender for 1,000 electric buses scheduled to open in August and their arrival expected to begin from January next year, he said, adding that the entire batch of new buses is expected to be on the roads by April next year.

The Hindu Businessline

India will deploy both CHAdeMO and Combined Charging System (CCS) fast-charging technologies, besides the existing Bharat Standard, at its public electric vehicle charging stations. According to sources in the Power Ministry, now the push will be to have Bharat Standard, CHAdeMO and CCS charging points at all public stations.

The Times of India

The Centre has sought information from the Chandigarh administration on steps being taken to promote electric vehicles in the Union Territory. The central government has already framed a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, which aims at promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.

The Hindu

Budget 2019 introduced an additional income tax deduction of 1.5 lakh for purchases of electric vehicles, besides lower GST of 5%. As a fast-motorising country can India make a smooth shift to electric vehicles? What will lead this transition? We discussed these questions with Ashok Jhunjhunwala (Institute Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras) and Tarun Mehta (Co-founder & CEO of EV firm Ather Energy).

Business Standard

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech detailed a number of proposals to boost e-mobility in India. Sitharaman said that Goods and Service Tax (GST) on electric vehicles will be reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. It also announced an additional income tax reduction of Rs 1.5 lakh to be provided for people buying electric cars on loan.

Livemint

To ensure rapid transition towards electric mobility, the Niti Aayog has proposed that two-wheelers below the capacity of 150 cc sold in the country after March 31, 2025, should be electric ones only, Parliament was informed Thursday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also said the Aayog has also proposed that three-wheelers sold in the country should be electric ones only after March 31, 2023.

India Times

India began working on the electrification of its transport means through the FAME scheme. With the FAME-II the union government furthered the efforts, with 10 times the budget allotted for the transition in the second phase. While the plan was to have 30% of India’s transport running on electric drive trains by 2030, there is an immediate and intermediate target now. Under its National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), the government now aims to deploy 6 to 7 million hybrid and electric vehicles in the country by 2020.

Moneycontrol

Less than a week after the Finance Ministry proposed incentives and rate cuts on electric vehicles and its allied industry, Hyundai Motor, the country’s second largest carmaker, launched its first all-electric car Kona in India.

Financial Express

Delhi Development Authority, on Tuesday, approved a proposal to allow setting-up of fuel stations on privately owned land, falling on all zones of urban areas provided that the owner pays a user fee. This proposal is now going to be sent to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for its approval. The decision was taken during a meeting of the urban body, chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal at Raj Niwas in Delhi.

Business Standard

Late last month, a meeting between established auto makers and newer players in the electric vehicle segment continued well past the fixed time. Participants said that the closed-door meeting, called to find a way out to meet the 2022 deadline for conversion of three-wheelers into electric vehicles and the 2025 deadline for two-wheelers was stormy, to put it mildly.

Business Standard

As the government promotes solutions for critical policy problems in technology, its intention is driven by global developments and success models. While the electric vehicle push in India stands to benefit from established ecosystems around the world, emerging technologies are still a race that India can hope to compete well in.

CNBC TV18

As automakers continue to reel under sales distress, the union budget announced last week was packed with huge incentives for prospective buyers of electric vehicles. The biggest such announcement being the income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loans taken for the purchase of electric vehicles.

Business Standard

The company secured $250 million from SoftBank ear- lier this month, and is being dubbed as India’s latest unicorn. It would be challenging for India to create a competitive advantage in EV manufacturing. For one thing, it is not the easiest place to conduct business. India ranks 77 in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings and can only provide capital subsidy or other support in a limited manner.

Business Standard

The NDA government has proposed a two-phase transition to electrical vehicles (EV) to bring down vehicular pollution in India’s towns and cities. In the first phase, beginning 2025, it wants two-and three wheelers with internal combustion engines (ICE) to be replaced with electric two and three wheelers with engine capacity of up to 150cc.

Business Standard

Electric vehicles are set to become the flavour of the season, if they haven’t already. But concerns loom over whether or not the industry will be able to meet the government’s ambitious target of converting 15 per cent of the vehicles on the country’s roads to electric in next five years.

The Hindu

The Union Budget has announced a bold move to make a transition to electric vehicles, and offered a tax incentive for the early adopters. Its stated vision to leapfrog into an era of electric mobility and domestic vehicle manufacturing, led by public transport and commercial vehicles, is forward-looking. It is also inevitable because poor air quality and noise pollution have sharply affected the quality of life, and pose a serious public health challenge.

Financial Express

In pursuit of placing India on a trajectory towards a $5 trillion economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a development-oriented Union Budget on July 6, 2019. Also, with an aim to promote sustainable development, and accelerate the electric mobility market in the country in this endeavor, measures such as income tax deduction of Rs. 1.5 lakh on interest paid on electric vehicle purchase loans, reduction in GST rates on electric vehicles, and a commitment of Rs. 10000 crore towards FAME-II, were announced in the budget.

Moneycontrol

Electric Vehicles (EVs) seemed like a solution to growing pollution by emissions and heavy oil imports. The Union Budget 2019 by the NDA-led government has tried to promote both the indigenous manufacturing of EVs and purchase benefits with tax rebates and exemptions. But it looks like the benefits of green mobility is a long term goal.

The Economic Times

The government is leading the way in installing charging stations for electric vehicles, having set up seve- ral such units at various offices star- ting with the Prime Minister’s Office. Daily, after dropping off officers at So- uth Block gates or their homes, electric cars of PMO line up at the 15 charging stations installed at its parking space to get charged for the next day.

The Times of India

State-run Kerala Automobiles Limited (KAL) will begin the production of electric autorickshaws from Wednesday with an aim to launch 8,000 vehicles in the first phase. KAL will also enter into the production of electric buses within next nine months in collaboration with Swiss electric bus manufacturer Hess AG.

CNBC

India is pushing to become a global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles after the government offered financial incentives to spur demand and eased several regulatory restrictions.

Financial Express

EbikeGo, electric bike rental and delivery platform, has announced that it will procure over 1000 electric two-wheeler in the next three months to further strengthen its operation. Presently, eBikeGo has already been working with corporate firms like Zomato, Delhivery, Go Stops, Ferns N Petals, Vpledge, Delhivery and others for B2B ride-sharing business and is already operational in cities like Delhi, Amritsar, Agra, Ludhiana, and Jaipur

NDTV

Even as the government envisages to make India a global hub for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, sectoral experts cite the need for a sustained effort to accelerate the production and demand growth of the industry in the country.

The Hindu Businessline

The budget 2019-20 has given much-needed sops to accelerate electric mobilitythough the auto industry was disappointed that no announcement was there to pull it up from the current slowdown.

Financial Express

Union Budget 2019 India: In her first Union Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took everyone by surprise by introducing a brand-new tax deduction on loans taken to purchase electrical vehicles (EVs). So far, vehicle loans had been outside the ambit of tax deductions that were created to ease the burden of repaying home and education loans.

The Times of India

Though not as green as the BJP’s pre-election manifesto, the Union budget presented on Friday promised ‘Green Mother Earth and blue skies’. The high point was the boost given to electric vehicles for ensuring an environment-friendly public transport system. “A thrust towards electric vehicles is good. When combined with increase in petrol and diesel prices, it sets a general trend towards future electrification. But it will need a matching of narratives,” said Aarti Khosla, director of Climate Trends.

The New Indian Express

Along with Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Kerala will have the first-mover advantage from the Centre’s push for EV regime in the budget. The state had announced a draft of its electric vehicle (EV) policy recently.

Business Today

In a major push to electric mobility in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced a slew of incentives for the industry including income tax deduction on the interest on any loan on electric vehicle, lower import duty on a host of components and investment-linked income tax exemption for setting up manufacturing for solar electric charging infrastructure and lithium storage batteries.

The Times of India

The vision for electric mobility highlighted in Economic Survey is encouraging for electric vehicle (EV) makers and will clear doubts amongst fence sitters and motivate them to come up with new energy products, according to industry players.

The Economic Times

The government is mulling a ban on all petrol and CNG-operated two and three wheelers by 2025 to promote electric vehicles. “NITI Aayog, in its meeting held on May 14, 2019 regarding national mission for transformative mobility and battery storage has formulated an action plan to run electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles and has proposed to ban all IC (internal combustion) engine powered two-wheelers and three-wheelers in India starting in 2025 for two-wheelers and in 2023 for three-wheelers,” road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said in response to a question in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Financial Express

Electric vehicles for long have been a hot topic of discussion among all stakeholders. However, not much has been achieved on the ground as a lack of charging infrastructure and range anxiety continue to deter people from buying EVs. Now though, detachable batteries can give a big boost to electric two-wheelers in India.

Livemint

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should aim to develop India into a manufacturing centre for electric vehicles (EVs) and related components on the lines of the US automotive hub of Detroit, according to the Economic Survey 2019 presented on Thursday.

Livemint

India’s first highway corridors with charging stations for electric vehicles are expected to come up along the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways by 2020, an official said. The combined stretch of the corridors on the Yamuna Expressway (between Delhi and Agra) and the National Highway 48 (between Delhi and Jaipur) will be 500 km, and 18 charging stations will be setup near toll plazas on the two routes, the official said.

Moneycontrol

The NDA government wants the Indian automobile industry to go electric. Progress has been slow and it blames the automobile industry for not doing enough. While the government has taken a confrontational approach, the Economic Survey has tried to show how it may be done, without breaking any bones. Its findings tie in with what others, including the automobile industry, have been saying.

ET Auto

According to a recent Economic Survey, access to fast charging services is required to increase the market share of electric vehicles. “Currently, the market share of electric cars in India is only 0.06 per cent when compared to 2 per cent in China and 39 per cent in Norway,” the report said.

Saur Energy

Six projects for setting up of EV charging infrastructure have been funded under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles —FAME II India Scheme. These include four solar based EV charging projects, with Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments, Jaipur (REIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) setting up two each.

Deccan Herald 

The first-ever electrical solar vehicle launched by SJEC had its own self-fabricated solar panel and customised gearbox. The team completed the design and participated in the Future Solar Design Challenge (FSDC) organised at the Chitkara University i…

AutoLogue

The last few months have not fared well for the Indian automotive industry. The sector is amidst one of the most challenging times ever witnessed with a drastic plunge in domestic consumption. Automobile sales across categories have touched the nadir in eight years since 2011, plummeting by 17.07%. This in turn has had a cascading negative impact on OEMs, auto ancillary and metal sectors.

Deccan Herald

The Central government has been consistently supporting and promoting the adoption of electric vehicles and it has had a positive impact on the market. As the industry matures, it will need long term policy support and predictability, which will allo…

Saur Energy

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the inauguration of a two-day event ‘Evolve: Kerala mobility conference and expo’ announced not only rolling out electric vehicles but under the EV policy Kerala will also invest on charging infrastructure and suitable technology development as well.

The Hindu

“We have the goal to adopt 100% EVs by 2025 for customer deliveries. Transport of co-workers with EVs will be the next step,” the Swedish home furnishings major said in an announcement on how Country Retail Managers at 30 IKEA retail businesses globally would take take on the role of country Chief Sustainability Officer as well.

Entrepreneur

Electric vehicles are the future of the automobile industry. With the rising levels of pollution, the electric revolution is gaining momentum with technological innovation and growing consciousness towards environment protection. Governments around the globe have stepped up their policies and innovation in technology to align themselves more in line with the procurement and deployment of electric vehicles.

Power Technology

The government of India has unveiled plans to boost its national battery manufacturing and value-adding capabilities that would see it meet its electric vehicle (EV) adoption targets.

MoneyControl

These are trying times for the auto industry, more so for the two-wheeler space, the biggest reflection of India’s pulse. The sales figures for 2018-19 are a precursor to the things to come next year. At 19 million units of sale, the industry grew by a moderate 6 percent last year, with no signs of immediate reversal.

TimesNow

Currently, NBFCs have a huge exposure to vehicle financing in the country, in almost every category including commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, two- and three-wheelers. The segment currently finances almost 70 per cent of new two-wheelers and 60 per cent of new commercial vehicles sold in the country.

Financial Express

The second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme will focus on supporting the electrification of public and shared transportation over the next three years, the government said on Tuesday.

DriveSpark

India has big plans to go fully electric in the two-wheeler (up to 150cc) segment over the next six years. If that happens, suppliers will get the opportunity to localise EV related components, and dealers will get all the footfall they need.

Zee Business

With Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman all set to present Modi 2.0’s first Full Budget on July 5, expectations and hopes of various traders, industrialists, and other people from the business section are running high. Keeping in mind the big focus on Electric Vehicles that Modi 2.0 has in terms of auto sector, players in EV segment too are sharing their expectations.

Live Mint

While the suggested composition of this proposed council, with the Union power minister as the chair, and the Union finance minister and the power ministers of all the states as members, given the linkages with other sectors, it would make sense to also have the Union ministers of coal; Environment, forest and climate change; and new and renewable energy as additional members too, given the strong linkages and the issues that the sector faces around mining, generation, and the challenges around integration of the addition of 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy into Indias power system.

DNA

We expect GST rates, which stand at 28%, should be brought down to 18% because it will benefit the industry in terms of cash flow and the complete structure, especially MSME companies and large corporates who are impacted will be comfortable with this. Similarly, several companies have also invested a lot in SVI and will be investing in EVs (electric vehicles) and they will need technology investment.

Business Standard

MG Motor India Tuesday said it has tied up with Fortum Charge & Drive India to set up charging stations for electric vehicles at its showrooms in five cities, including Delhi-NCR, ahead of the launch of its electric SUV, EZS, later this year. Under the partnership, Finland-based clean energy major Fortum will install 50 kW DC fast-charging EV stations at MG Motor India’s showrooms in Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad by September this year to begin with.

Business Standard

It could have been the best of times for two-wheelers. After all, India has grabbed the top slot from China recently as the largest manufacturer of conventional internal combustion engine sp(ICE)-powered two-wheelers. But there is some worrisome news.

Times Now

As the Indian government continues to push for and struggle with the mass adoption of electric vehicles in the country, there’s one state that is looking to set an example. Kerala has set a quite determined electric vehicles policy for the state; under the purview of this plan, announced at the ‘Evolve: Kerala Mobility Conference and Expo’, the local government aims to introduce one million electric vehicles by 2022.

Deccan Chronicle

As part of its efforts to popularise eco-friendly electric or hybrid vehicles in the state, the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL) has set up an e-vehicle charging station at the secretariat here. The KSEBL is the nodal agency appointed by the state government for the promotion and implementation of e-vehicle policy.

India Today

The government supported nearly 2.78 lakh electric and hybrid vehicles with a total demand incentive of approximately Rs 343 crore for purchase of the same under Phase-I of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme.

Financial Express

2019 is the year where everyone wants to jump on the Electric Vehicle wagon. June 2019 itself has seen three automakers announce their EV plans for the year. The beauty about the entire electric vehicle space is that it is a clean slate for everyone. In a market as big as India, traditional automakers, as well as new entrants, are eyeing this space for a future market share.

Livemint

Ola Electric Mobility, the electric vehicle arm of ride-hailing giant Ola Cabs and the latest member of India’s unicorn club, plans to raise more funds to support its ambition of operating one million electric vehicles by 2021.

Business Today

The Environment Ministry on Tuesday acquired electric cars for official use, a move aimed at reducing air pollution. According to ministry sources, five electric cars have been acquired on a trial basis out of which three have been allotted to ministry officials.

Livemint

At the sidelines of a recent industry dinner, two doyens of India’s automobile industry were heard making an impassioned counter to the government’s roadmap to develop and manufacture products with electric powertrains. When another industrialist piped in that this resistance would have to factor in a global push by governments to develop electric vehicles (EVs), one of the auto men replied, “We shall see, we shall see.”

Autocar Professional

India wants to go fully electric in two-wheelers (up to 150cc) in the next six years. If that happens, suppliers will get that critical scale to localise EV-related components, and dealers will get the critical footfalls in their showrooms. That, however, at present is a challenge because of which many EV dealers have shut shop. There were around 860 electric two-wheeler dealerships in April this year. The figure was at least 20 percent more. These 20 percent dealers exited during the preceding year or so.

CIOL

The Government of India through its instrumentalities has endeavored to push E-mobility. While the “Ministry of New and Renewable Energy” has augmented R&D in Electric vehicles (EVs), the Department of Heavy Industry launched “National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020” to promote the use of EVs by putting 6 to 7 million of it on road by 2020.

Financial Express

Every other day, we see/hear the electric vehicle heat gaining rapidly. Some new rule or another EV manufacturer hawking its wares almost always is in the news. Kerala though has gone one step ahead. God’s own country is targeting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2022.

ET Auto

In the interim Budget for fiscal year 2019-20, there were major announcements for farmers, workers and the middle class people, but limited incentives for corporates. However, in the interim Budget speech, the Finance Minister said: “India will lead the energy revolution in the world with the electric vehicles.

ET Auto

The automobile sector is severe need of support from the Government in this year’s budget as auto sales are at an 18 year low. The slowdown in automobile OEMs is having a cascading effect on auto ancillary as well as the metal industry which in turn affecting the overall GDP growth story as it contributes over 7% in the total GDP.

Times Now

In order to push electric vehicles (EV) in the country amid opposition from the powerful auto lobby the government is mulling a phased rollout of the EV programme. NITI Aayog, the government think tank, which is framing policies for the same, has proposed to allow sell of only electric three-wheelers by 2023 and two-wheelers with engine capacity of up to 150cc by 2025. This proposal has seen resistance from auto companies.

India Times

After multiple policies for bringing in electric vehicles to the country, Indian government’s think tank – Niti Aayog will now be working towards setting up the required infrastructure for the EVs. For the same, the ministry of heavy industries will soon be announced incentives for such infrastructure.

ET Energyworld

The NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute recently released a comprehensive document on India’s electric mobility transformation which assesses progress made till date and analyses the possible impact of FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles).

The Hindu

Countering the industry’s claims that the NITI Aayog proposal for transition to electric vehicles (EVs) was “unrealistic” and “ill-timed”, the think-tank’s Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said it was a well-thought out policy to capitalise on the “sunrise industry” and that two -wheeler makers should work with the Aayog rather than paint an incorrect picture.

DNA

The government wants to make three-wheelers and two-wheelers (up to 150cc) compulsorily electric by 2023 and 2025, respectively. The industry has opposed the plan, citing there was no ground infrastructure for electric vehicles in the country. The goal can be achieved by disincentivising fossil fuel vehicles and giving incentives for EVs.

The Times of India

Air quality in large parts of India is poor. Clean air is a public good and initiatives towards that end deserve support. However, even in the pursuit of this public good, policy makers cannot afford to ignore a core economic principle: tradeoffs.

ET Auto

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has demanded the government must include battery swapping model of charging under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme of Department of Heavy Industry.

ET Auto

Speaking at the recently held ETAuto Tech Summit, Anil Srivastava emphasised that electric vehicles are the focus area of the government and soon incentives may be announced to support its infrastructure.

News18

Close to 350 electric buses are set to be deployed in five major cities of Andhra Pradesh under a Rs 746-crore-project, the state’s Transport and Information and Public Relations ministry said. In the first phase of the project, buses will be deployed in cities including Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada and Amaravati.

The Times of India

The Supreme Court appointed environment watchdog, EPCA, and the Centre are likely to back allowing more autorickshaws on Delhi roads when the apex court takes up the case. Both are likely to submit to the court that only electric autorickshaws should be allowed over and above the cap that has been fixed for conventional three-wheelers, sources said.

The Times of India

The government is looking to put in place a framework for a mega battery manufacturing and charging infrastructure — including the use of petrol pumps for electric charging points — to push electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.

Financial Express

Fiscal incentives to promote Electric Vehicles, in the form of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles), were launched in 2015 for a period of two years. These were later extended up to March, 2019. With its outlay of Rs 450 crore during the last four years, FAME I helped about 2.63 lakh electric/hybrid vehicles, including 1.4 lakh two-wheelers (E-2W) and 1.01 lakh four-wheelers (E-4W).

The Economic Times

Nitin Gadkari has lined up mega plans in his second innings as the minister of road transport & highways. In an interview with Prerna Katiyar, the Nagpur MP, who now also heads the ministry of micro, small & medium enterprises, speaks about the lofty infrastructure targets of the government, the immediate agenda to revive stalled highway projects and his ambition to globalise products made by Indian small businesses to boost exports, among other themes

The News Minute

In a move to encourage the use of electric vehicles, an electric vehicle charging station was launched in Kochi on Saturday. The charging station has been set up at the outlet of Indian Oil United Fuels in Edapally. According to reports, this is the second electric vehicle charging station to be set up in south India after Hyderabad.

The Economic Times

Flipkart is planning to replace nearly 40% of its current fleet of delivery vans with electric vehicles (EVs) by March 2020, as part of its efforts to cut down on its carbon footprint. The ecommerce company said it will start with deploying 160 vans by 2019-end. Some of these EVs are already plying in the country’s capital of New Delhi.