Centre and States Commit Over Rs 1.25 Lakh Crore to India's EV Push

Rs 1.25 Lakh Crore: The Scale of India's EV Bet

The Centre and the states together have committed more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore to incentivise electric vehicle adoption, according to an assessment by NITI Aayog. The numbers frame just how much public money is now riding on the transition: EV penetration in India reached 8.25 percent by 2025-26, up from just 0.5 percent in 2018, and more than 8.7 million EVs are running on Indian roads.

Of the central commitment of over Rs 90,000 crore, the largest chunks are Rs 44,000 crore for the Production Linked Incentive schemes on advanced chemistry cell batteries and the automobile industry, Rs 24,000 crore across the FAME-I, FAME-II and PM E-DRIVE demand incentive schemes, and Rs 20,000 crore as central assistance through PM-eBus Sewa for public transport electrification. States and union territories have committed another Rs 37,613 crore under PM-eBus Sewa, on top of their own purchase incentives, road tax and registration fee exemptions.

The demand side is responding. Close to 2.5 million EVs were registered in 2025-26 alone, a rise of about 25 percent over the previous financial year, with two-wheelers accounting for 1.3 million of that volume. Commercial goods vehicles saw the sharpest growth across electric light, medium and heavy segments, with penetration climbing from 0.6 percent in 2024 to 1.4 percent in 2025, though e-bus adoption actually moderated from 8.75 percent in 2021 to 6.4 percent by 2025. Public charging stations touched 29,000 by June 2025, and the Ministry of Heavy Industries counted 52,718 public chargers including 16,561 fast chargers for cars as of July 2026.

Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy, speaking at a Ministry event this week, said the industry now needs stronger localisation and cost competitiveness for an "inclusive, affordable and economically sustainable" transition. Under PM E-DRIVE, more than 23.2 lakh electric vehicles have received incentives so far, with Rs 2,281.94 crore reimbursed as of 1 July, and the scheme targets support for over 72,000 public charging points.

What This Means for You

For buyers, the takeaway is that purchase incentives, road tax exemptions and charging build-out have years of committed funding behind them, which reduces the policy risk that has historically spooked Indian EV buyers. The weak spot is domestic cell manufacturing, which NITI Aayog itself notes has progressed slowly, and that is where the next phase of the story will be decided. Follow the policy track on AUTOINDIA.

(Sources: NITI Aayog assessment reported by deccanchronicle.com, Ministry of Heavy Industries event remarks reported by bioenergytimes.com, evfy.in. Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)