In a major push for EVs NITI Aayog has proposed to do away with all permits for Electric Vehicles. NITI Aayog suggest Electric vehicles are largely environment-friendly and thus should be promoted more actively by the government. This if implemented would be a major positive move in India since the independence of the country.

We at PlugInCaroo feel that this will not only promote electric vehicles but also improve (GREATLY) the ease of doing business building Electric Vehicles in India… especially for start-ups in India. Those companies… who have already got approval for their vehicles will always be against this suggestion because it would make it easy for any new competition to come in.

Now take the example of Ather Energy and Tork Motorcycles who lost 2 precious years in getting their vehicles approved for homologation. Such delay is unprecedented in ANY industry and helps nobody. The delay has allowed Chinese built bikes to dominate the market till  Ather & Tork bike gets released.

Anyhow…Why should the Government decide what kind of vehicles ANY companies will make?…  Government has to set safety standards and if companies do not match the standards people will not buy those vehicles. Simple as that.

Imagine if the same approach of government approval for every particular model was  required before  manufacturing every new model of Refrigerator, TV, Laptops and mobile phones then nothing will get manufactured in India other than old outdated stuff. And we have been manufacturing outdated stuff under this license, permit and approval raj.

The “Permits” and “license” were started by the British Raj to control who gets to build what and the Raj and later the Indian government used it for their benefit and corruption.

Other than this proposal from NITI Aayg the Indian government is reportedly planning to extend financial support of up to $1.3 Bn (INR 8,730 Cr) under FAME-2.

It is also gearing up to offer incentives to local battery makers, with the aim of facilitating the establishment of more manufacturing units in the country.