Uttarakhand joins EV bandwagon, will provide incentives to EV buyers

Uttrakhand's chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced recently that incentives will be provided on the sale of electric vehicles in the state to encourage the adoption of eco-friendly vehicles and reduce vehicle-related pollution. The chief minister made the announcement during a webinar organised to mark the Himalayas Diwas.

During the virtual meet, he said that the incentives will be given by the Pollution Control Board on the sale of the first 5,000 two-wheelers and the first 1,000 four-wheelers sold to private consumers. The incentive on electric two-wheelers will be either 10 percent of their price, or ₹7,500, whichever is lower and the incentive on four-wheelers will be up to ₹50,000 or 5 percent of their price, again whichever is lower. These incentives will be given in the form of back-ended subsidy through direct benefit transfer to the banks, financial institutions or dealers, informed Dhami.

He also shared that the electric surcharge levied on the first 250 charging stations for electric vehicles will be kept in the domestic category for two years. Institution and people can open a charging station for electric vehicles if they have enough land for the same and the permission from the municipal corporation, said a report by PTI.

Many states of the country have opted for incentives to promote and encourage people to adopt electric vehicles. Assam too joined the electric bandwagon recently after it announced its policy dedicated to EVs. The Assam government aims to bring at least two lakh electric vehicles on road in the next five years. It promised to provide incentives to EV buyers as well.