After EV policy see-saw ride, NITI Aayog asks ministers to frame guidelines

After months of dilly-dallying on Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, NITI Aayog, a Think Tank of the Government, has asked ministers concerned to frame guidelines to promote the use of such vehicles.

After framing the guidelines by the end of March, the governing body has decided put out an action plan, said a Livemint report quoting people close to the development.

Earlier, on Feb 15, Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways  said, “There is no need for any policy now.” This was in complete contrast to the minister’s early statement when he said the policy was awaiting approval from the union cabinet.

Following govt's u-turn on policy, ride-hailing firm Ola, that has big plans for turning India into an electric vehicle nation, has started scaling back its plans for battery-powered vehicle fleet. Bengaluru-based cab aggregator Ola launched a pilot of its electric vehicles project in Nagpur to deploy electric cars and build 50 charging points committing Rs 50 crore for the project.

A group of top vehicle makers — Hero Electric, Okinawa Scooters, Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata Motors, called Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) — were also planning to meet government officials to seek clarity on the position on electric vehicles.

However, now industry experts welcome the move to make an action plan for the same.

Ministries related to power, heavy, new and renewable energy, road transport and shipping and highways, earth sciences, urban affairs and information technology are tasked with the responsibility to frame guidelines.

Queries sent to a NITI Aayog and Nitin Gadkari remained unanswered till the publication of this report.

The government is yet to clarify on the action plan or final set of guidelines will replace the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme, which will end by 31 March.