Telangana's Vahan gap: Centre eyes direct link for faster EV subsidies
The Vahan portal does not currently record vehicle registration data from Telangana, the only state absent on the platform, which leads to delays in paying out incentives. A new plan could change that.
New Delhi: The Union ministry of heavy industries is considering working directly with Telangana's transport department to promptly secure the state's vehicle registration data bilaterally and disburse incentives to claimant electric vehicle makers without any delay, according to two people aware of the development.
The ministry of heavy industries, the nodal agency for the implementation of the ₹10,900-crore PM E-drive green mobility scheme, collates registration data from the central government's Vahan portal, tallies them with claims made by companies before disbursing financial incentives.
Vahan is a national platform that facilitates vehicle registrations, permits, taxation, and enforcement, and is run by the Union ministry of road transport and highways. However, the portal does not currently record vehicle registration data from Telangana, the only state absent on the platform.
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Out of sync
"The heavy industries ministry receives the necessary data with a lag, and that can, at times, lead to a delay in incentive disbursal," said the first of the two people cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"It is under consideration to get the data from the state government directly, to ensure that the ministry of heavy industries is up to date with the latest registration figures," the person added.
Queries sent to the ministries of heavy industries and road transport and highways, as well as to the state transport department of Telangana remained unanswered till press time.
About 6,300 EVs were registered in Telangana in May this year, according to the Telangana Open Data Portal, compared to approximately 186,000 battery-powered vehicles registered across the country in the same period. Telangana, therefore, accounted for 3.4% of the country's total EV sales in the month.
Under the PM E-drive scheme, manufacturers sell electric vehicles to consumers at a discount, and the government reimburses them the difference. The scheme aims to boost the adoption of EVs by incentivising electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, trucks, and ambulances, and set up adequate charging infrastructure. The scheme into effect on 1 October 2024, and will remain in force until 31 March 2026.
According to submission in parliament on 1 April, the government has till February 2025 disbursed ₹422 crore to eligible manufacturers under the PM E-drive scheme.
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As per the scheme's operational guidelines, manufacturers can claim incentives for approved products on a weekly basis, but not later than 120 days after the sale.
Final piece of the jigsaw
Vehicle registration data on Vahan also provides a more accurate picture of sales, and can reduce inventory pileups with dealers.
On 1 April, Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker by sales volumes, said it would report monthly sales figures using the Vahan portal, instead of relying on wholesale retail figures. Partho Banerjee, the company's senior executive officer - sales and marketing, told reporters that Telangana may be onboarded to the central registry in the next month or two.
The Vahan portal is used for individual vehicle registrations, which are then tallied and used for policy implementation. But Telangana is yet to be integrated into the central vehicle registry as the state government continues to use its own system for vehicle registration, taxation, and driver licence approvals.
Pilot projects to join the central registry have begun in Telangana, as per a report by The New Indian Express in September 2024, citing unnamed officials.
Timely payouts matter
Timely disbursal of incentives is crucial as the PM E-drive scheme aims to facilitate smaller automakers who are venturing into the EV making business, and rely on consistent cash flows for smooth operations, according to domain experts.
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Till date, only makers of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers have received incentives under the PM E-drive scheme. Disbursals of incentives for these manufacturers make up about a third of the scheme's total outlay.
Thirteen automakers—Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd, Ather Energy Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, BGAUSS Auto Pvt Ltd, Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Ltd, Euler Motors Pvt Ltd, River Mobility Pvt Ltd, TI Clean Mobility Pvt Ltd, Ola Electric Technologies Pvt Ltd, TVS Motor Company Ltd, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Terra Motors India Pvt Ltd, and Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Ltd—are currently eligible for incentives under the PM E-drive scheme, as per data on the scheme's portal.
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