Little to cheer for EV segment in Union Budget 2021

In the run-up to the Union Budget 2021, there was hope that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would make announcements about two aspects of the automobile industry – the vehicle scrappage policy and electric mobility.

While a voluntary vehicle scrappage policy was announced, with details to come later, there was no announcement as far as electric vehicles are concerned. There was mention of a tax holiday for start-ups and considering there are EV start-ups, there might be a bit of cheer.

Chetan Maini, Chairman and Co-founder, SUN Mobility, said: “When it comes to electric mobility, the main expectation was a firmer commitment from a policy standpoint by the government for accelerating e-mobility and enabling charging and battery swapping infrastructure in the country for the same.