Powering the Future: A Deep Dive into India’s EV Policy and it's Global Counterparts The Government of India has set an ambitious target of 30% of all vehicles to be EV by 2030. Additionally, Indian government's vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 requires the creation of a robust R&D landscape that can enable the creation of a self-sufficient domestic EV ecosystem. Let's see how realistic is this goal when China already dominates more than 60% of global EV market. Out of 17 million EVs sold globally in 2024, China led the world with 11.3 million EV sales, followed by the European Union (EU) with 3.2 million EV sales, the United States with 1.3 million, rest of the world responsible for around 1 million EV sales. This article explores India’s EV policy, compares it with the U.S. and China in brief, and highlights the challenges India faces on its journey towards building EV ecosystem. Scenario of India's EV Policy India began it's EV journey in 2015, about 5 years late than most large economies. Introduced Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles scheme (FAME) with an initial outlay of ₹895 crores for a period of 5 years, increased to ₹11500 crore ($1.2 billion) in 2019 for a period of 5 years. In 2024, the Government of India launched PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Management (PM E-DRIVE) scheme with an initial outlay of ₹10900 crores for a period of 2 years. This aims primarily at encouraging the adoption of EVs in both the public and commercial sectors by providing direct subsidies for acquiring electric vehicles. India has taken a positive step toward boosting the electric vehicle (EV) usage by reducing a concessional import duty on completely built-up units (CBUs) to 15% (from 70-110%) in June 2025. But this comes with a condition that: [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object] While this sounds promising but India's expenditure is still very less compared to China or the USA. Global Comparison: China and the USA Main challenges in India's EV journey [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object] The way forward India is one of the world’s biggest growth markets for Electric Vehicles. In recent times there has been a all-rounded effort throughout the country to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel and conventional forms of vehicles. India has an extensive reserves of Lithium, which puts the country on the forefront of this boom. Also, the country is aiming to achieve 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity by 2030, to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. India can learn its way In conclusion, India’s production and supply networks for electric vehicles have substantial prospects but face several obstacles. If India can align its industrial strategy with its environmental goals, the next decade could see it emerge not just as an EV consumer market, but a manufacturing powerhouse as well.
