Govt working to reduce electric vehicle tax: Niti Aayog CEO
Kant congratulated the IIT-Guwahati fraternity for starting the unique course on e-mobility at the premier technology institute.
GUWAHATI: Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the government was pushing for electric motilities with FAME and FAME 2 schemes, bringing down the rate of taxes on electric vehicles at 5%, as compared to 28% for other vehicles and 43% for hybrid vehicles.
“We also give tax exemption, up to Rs 1 lakh, to people who are buying electric vehicles. As a consequence of all this, the focus on electrification will be huge and if India has to emerge as a leader in clean, connected and shared mobility, there are two important things to keep in mind — one is that India is a major user of two- and three-wheelers and 80% of people travel in these vehicles. Second, battery will be an important component. Battery manufacturing and storage will be a key component and storage will have to be linked to renewable energy integration with the grid,” he said in an interactive session for students of the first batch of MS (Research) in e-mobility programme, organised by IIT-Guwahati on Saturday.
Kant congratulated the IIT-Guwahati fraternity for starting the unique course on e-mobility at the premier technology institute. “This is a path-breaking initiative because India is in the middle of a mist of technological disruption and revolution. This disruption will lead to a huge and massive shift from combustion vehicles to electric vehicles and we are heading towards a shared and connected zero-emission world,” he said.
Anil Srivastava, mission director of Niti Aayog, said it was looking forward to making more energy-efficient and less-costing batteries. “The e-vehicles are not required to give much tax. India is a great user of two and three-wheelers and e-vehicles will make a great opportunity in it,” said Srivastava.
Speaking during the session, Prof TG Sitharam, director of IIT-Guwahati, said, “From this year, we have introduced a policy such that every academic department should have at least three successful industry advisors who are successful in research and development in industry, so that the curriculum can be inclusive of industry relevant problems over a period of time. If we look at the government’s policy, India wants to achieve 30 percent of e-mobility by 2030”.
Prof. Praveen Kumar, coordinator of the MS(R) programme also spoke at the programme.
He said that industry expert lectures, from India, European Union (EU), and Japan, on topics related to e-
mobility such as vehicle design philosophy, light-weighting, new battery chemistries, are planned.
“Professors of Practice (PoPs) will deliver lectures on niche topics like AUTOSAR, advanced control techniques, vehicle design, and we will develop a centre of advanced research in e-mobility at the Institute,” Kumar said.
Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes
