Government committed to fostering environment to attract investments: HD Kumaraswamy

The government is committed to fostering a favourable environment to attract substantial investments from global automakers including Tesla, says HD Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of Heavy Industries. In an exclusive interview with businessline, Kumaraswamy tells even without subsidies, EV sales are projected to grow significantly by 2030. Edited excerpts:

What is the progress on the PM E-DRIVE scheme? How much has the MHI disbursed till now for the subsidies?

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi visionary leadership, the government is committed to accelerating India’s transition to sustainable mobility under Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047. Guidelines for e-Ambulances, e-Trucks, and testing agencies are being prepared to enhance India’s EV ecosystem. It is pertinent to mention that as per Vahan data, as on February 18, around 10-lakh EVs have been sold under the scheme in the current financial year (FY 2024-25), out of which claims of 7.47 lakh EVs have been received so far. It is expected that out of this amount, claims of over ₹1,300 crore will be received under the scheme FY2024-25. As on February 17, a total of 2,34,384 EVs including 1,97,170 e-2Ws and 37,214 e-3Ws have been incentivised under PM E-DRIVE for an amount of ₹366 crore.

But, what about e-Buses, e-Trucks and e-Ambulances, which have not being rolled out yet under the scheme?

Initially, nine major cities having the population of more than 40 lakh - Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat and Pune are covered under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme. Expression of Interest (EOI) for e-Buses has been published by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) on November 13, 2024. The last date of submission of demand for e-buses was earlier, December 25, 2024 that got extended till February 20. Direct Debit Mandate (DDM) has been received from Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. MHI is also exploring possibility and feasibility of deployment of e-Trucks in specific sectors like steel, cement, mining, logistics, ports and national highways. For e-Ambulances, MHI has allocated ₹500 crore under the scheme. An e-Ambulance model is expected to be available by March, while a hybrid ambulance model may be ready by second half of 2025.

Recently the Prime Minister at Bharat Mobility said EVs in India could increase eight-fold by end of 2030. Do you think that is achievable without any subsidies?

As per Vahan data, for the last eleven years (2014-15) onwards till February 14, 2025, it appeared that EV sales have increased multi-fold in the past decade. EV sales have surged by 732 times over the past 11 years, with a CAGR of 82 per cent, reaching 16.84-lakh units in the current FY, surpassing last year’s figures. Even without subsidies, EV sales are projected to grow significantly by 2030, as evidenced by the strong performance in the current FY, surpassing the previous year’s total within 11 months.

While Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans, etc. are participating in the Indian EV manufacturing space, what is stopping Tesla from entering the Indian market? What are Tesla’s demands?

The government is committed to fostering a favourable environment to attract substantial investments from global automakers...Three rounds of stakeholder consultations have since been held and representative from Tesla participated only in the first round of consultations, held on April 18, 2024, in observing capacity. PM Modi’s Make in India vision under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ ensures a level playing field while encouraging global EV manufacturers to set up local production...Installing charging infrastructure is still an issue when it comes to personal EVs at residential societies, as many RWAs do not permit at the buildings. Should the government step in for some solutions on such issues, like giving dedicated land for community charging?

..MHI can accelerate the adoption of EV charging in residential areas. For encouraging land allocation for community charging – MHI can also work with State governments to facilitate public land allocation for EV charging stations in high-density residential areas...Another step can be empowering RWAs to have separate metred connections in line with MoP’s guidelines and also a Green RWA Certification Programme to recognise and reward housing societies that actively promote EV adoption and charging.