EV makers would need govt support for longer term: Par panel

The electric vehicle manufacturers would need government support for a longer term until the EV market becomes self-sustainable, a Parliamentary panel said in a report on Monday.

The electric vehicle manufacturers would need government support for a longer term until the EV market becomes self-sustainable, more affordable and within the reach of the common man, a Parliamentary panel said in a report on Monday.

The department-related parliamentary standing committee on industry has also expressed concerns over a "lacklustre progress" in both physical and financial targets set under the FAME II scheme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles).

The report said that the heavy industries ministry needs to promote electric mobility colossally by working towards technological solutions through R&D efforts with industry, research and development agencies.

The ministry, it said, must plan a road map to reap this opportunity for proliferation of production, sales and incentivisation of EVs.

"The committee is of the view that the manufacturers would need the support from government on a longer term i.e, until the EV market becomes self-sustainable, more affordable and within the reach of common man," it said.

The committee recommends that a medium- and long-term transparent and visible regulatory road map with staggered timeline of regulations should be made available to the industry so that they can plan their investments, technologies and product development in a planned and efficient manner, and cost escalation caused due to fulfilling regulatory guidelines for automobiles can be stabilised.

"Further to bring down the cost of technology, the committee recommends that emphasis should be laid on faster localisation of manufacturing of automobile components, which shall also be supported by increased volumes as the installation rates and vehicle volumes would grow over time," it said.

The panel also recommended the ministry to ensure utilisation of the funds made available for the PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme before the end of 2021-22 for the purpose envisaged.

Expressing concerns over the allocation of meagre funds for the development of capital goods sector, it suggested that the ministry should address the issue of huge curtailment of funds and seek enhanced allocation at RE (revised estimate) stage so as to promote the growth of the sector.

"There is an urgent need for creating an ecosystem for export promotion, investment, technology, automation and driving new sustainable solutions, which is crucial for accelerating India's growth trajectory and harnessing the full potential," it said.

Further, it suggested that BHEL should take initiatives to diversify in the areas related to power, emission, transportation, transmission, defence, oil & rigs and focus on capital investment projects/schemes, modernisation and rationalisation of facilities.