“Govt to Expand Electric Vehicle Ecosystem to Support Charging Infra”, Reveals Nirmala Sitharaman During Union Budget 2024

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the interim Budget 2024-25, states that the Government will expand the electric vehicle ecosystem to support manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Payment security mechanisms will encourage the adoption of e-buses for public transport networks. During the pre-election Budget, the Union Finance Minister stated these things, which is technically a vote on account and popularly termed an Interim Budget.

To promote green growth, she also said that blending compressed biogas into compressed natural gas for transport and piped natural gas will be mandatory. The Government will launch a biomanufacturing and bio-foundry scheme to provide environmentally friendly alternatives for biodegradable production. On January 22, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said that developing and adopting electric vehicles (EVs) are pivotal in India's transition to a low-carbon economy.

The fast-growing EV market in India is catching the eye of global players. India's electric vehicle market is expected to grow to 1 crore units in annual sales by 2030 and create five crore direct and indirect jobs, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23. As per industry estimates, the total EV sales in India stood at around 10 lakh units in 2022. On the back of increasing EV demand, the Indian Government is providing fiscal incentives to promote domestic manufacturing of these cars.