NITI Aayog, reportedly, setting up a $5 billion fund for the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) in the country. As per available resources, the US agency for international development (USAID) is said to provide technical assistance in setting up the fund. The plan is to reduce the high upfront capital expenditure for EV ownership.
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As per previous reports, the Indian government is increasingly strengthening its support for EV adoption through its various policies. It is also said that the plans include bolstering EV charging and battery swapping infrastructure, incentives for EV manufacturers and so on.
A US Embassy spokesperson said in a news report was quoted as saying, "USAID under its South Asia regional energy partnership has collaborated with NITI Aayog to set up an electric vehicle financial services facility to advance electric mobility in India. USAID's technical assistance aims at creating enablers for EV financing. The organization would engage with the industry and various financial institutions to help develop a conceptual framework for EV financing and create a carbon asset development methodology, taking advantage of carbon credits and monetization."
While addressing a television event on June 2022, road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, emphasized the government's efforts to promote the green fuels, so that the cost of electric vehicles will be on par with cost of petrol vehicles. This move also aimed at increase in the EV adoption rate of the country. He also stated that, "There is a lot of scope for startups in the automobile industry. The use of electric vehicles is rising in the country and Pune has the potential to become a transport hub for these vehicles."
As per market studies, the Indian electric vehicle market size was estimated at 167,041 units in 2020 and it is expected to reach a value of $17.3 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 35 per cent over the forecast period.