Considers Incentives Like Lower Interest Rates, Registration Fees, Toll Waiver
NEW DELHI: The Centre is considering a slew of concessions, from upfront subsidies to interest rate concessions, toll waivers, and lower registration charges, as it seeks to promote electric trucks, especially on certain “priority routes”.
Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Jaipur, Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Pune, and Agra-Lucknow are among the highway stretches that have been prioritised, keeping in mind that it takes five-to-six hours to travel on these stretches. The proposal being discussed is part of the PM e-Drive initiative, which has seen strong demand for electric two-and three-wheelers, with the allo cated subsidies for these segments expected to be exhausted in the next few months.
The ministry of heavy industries, which is piloting the Rs 500 crore scheme for etrucks, has held consultations with several ministries as well as the steel, cement, ports, and logistics sectors to seek their feedback before drafting the final plan. Some of the “priority routes” will include the cement and steel corridors as well as movement within ports. Besides, it has studied the experience in Europe and China, which are the leading users of electric trucks.
Strengthening of the power grid to deal with requirement is also among the issues that have been flagged by the power ministry, sources said. The subsidy for each vehicle will be linked to its size with an overall budgetary ceiling. The govt believes that incentives are required for truckers to move to EVs, as has also been the experience with two-wheelers and passenger vehicles.

Separately, Tata Motors and Force Motors have indicated their interest in manufacturing electric ambulances, which are also part of the scheme. A govt official said there has been massive interest in the electric bus scheme as well, with Delhi, Bengaluru, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad already submitting proposals for 15,400 buses against the funding available for 14,000 buses. Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai are yet to submit their proposals.
The heavy industries ministry intends to issue tenders for supply of 10,000-11,000 buses to the five cities that have submitted their proposals, with the total subsidy capped at Rs 35 lakh per bus. The ministry is also working with other govt departments to put in place the charging infrastructure under the PM e-Drive scheme, .with the industry raising the issue of higher costs.