Maharashtra Approves New EV Policy With Infra Push and Tax Waivers

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the new electric vehicle (EV) policy 2025. The new policy aims to increase the state's manufacture and use of electric mobility.

The policy will be in place till 2030 and will be implemented with INR 1,993 Cr during the following five years. According to a media report, the new EV policy will waive tolls for certain electric vehicles travelling on highways. In addition, subsidies will be offered for the purchase of these vehicles in an effort to reduce air pollution.

According to the article, Fadnavis stated that the state government has authorised a new EV policy that will provide incentives for passenger EVs. The state should see a rise in EV production and usage.

Additionally, the policy prioritised the adoption of the clean mobility transition model by providing incentives to individuals who transitioned to electric vehicles until 2030.

Charging Infrastructure will be Strengthened

According to the CM, the new EV strategy would also boost the state's charging infrastructure and put charge stations on national highways every 25 kilometres.

Under the new policy, electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, private four-wheelers, buses operated by the state transport corporation, private buses and transport projects run by civic organisations will all be eligible for a 10% purchase price reduction.

This apparently follows the Delhi government's consideration of providing a purchase subsidy of up to INR 30,000 for the purchase of two-wheeler EVs as part of its future Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0.

Centre to Shorten Time For EV Subsidy Settlement

According to reports, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) intends to cut the 40-day processing period for EV subsidy claims to just five days. The Centre aims to resolve technical bottlenecks and expedite verification procedures in order to carry out such a move.

Under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) programme, the government is taking this action in an effort to reduce the backlog and guarantee the prompt distribution of EV subsidies.

There is already a massive backlog of 126,000 pending subsidy claims for 2024–2025. There are 109,000 claims for e-2Ws alone out of 893,000 claims altogether.

Face authentication concerns have been blamed for these delays since buyers' appearances may differ from their Aadhaar images, which makes identity verification difficult. One of the MHI's main initiatives to hasten EV adoption and build out supporting infrastructure nationwide is the PM E-DRIVE Scheme.

The programme will replace previous programmes like FAME and EMPS-2024 and has a budgetary investment of INR 10,900 CR. It will run from October 2024 to March 2026.