Odisha government to offer incentives on purchase of Electric Vehicles

Here comes the Odisha state government with a new proposal to provide attractive incentives on the purchase of electric vehicles.

As per the draft EV policy notified last month, the customers will receive a subsidy of 15 per cent on the purchase of electric vehicles (EV). This is to achieve the adoption of 20 per cent battery-operated EVs in all vehicle registrations by 2025. On basis of the draft policy, two-wheeler buyers would receive maximum incentives of ? 5,000 while three-wheeler customers would get a subsidy of ? 12,000. The subsidy on four-wheelers will go up to ? 1 lakh.

“Government employees would get 100 per cent interest-free loan to purchase electric vehicles” the draft notification stated. The policy mentioned that the government departments, offices and the public sector on a whole should prefer hiring battery-operated vehicles for official use.

Besides this, Municipal authorities are expected to offer subsidized parking for all personal EVs. Appropriate battery charging infrastructure will also be created. The government is also looking to waive off-road tax and registration fee on the purchase of electric vehicles as well.

“The primary aim of the Odisha Electric Vehicle policy is to accelerate the pace of adoption of battery-operated vehicles, especially in the category of two, three and four-wheelers. The aim is to achieve the adoption of 20 per cent battery-operated vehicles in all registrations by 2025. We will also promote the manufacture of electric vehicles and its components, including batteries, in the state” State transport secretary Madhu Sudan Padhi said.

At present the total number of electric vehicles across the state is just 3,500 units. Around 26 lakh vehicles operated on fuel, including over 21 lakh two-wheelers are approximately 82 per cent of the total vehicles.