Odisha government has introduced an online portal for the disbursement of incentives on electric vehicles (EVs) that have been announced under the Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy-2021.
Launching the portal, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra directed officials to make the portal robust by linking it with the fund transfer portal of the banks and making the entire process automated with the least human interface.
He sanctioned the first subsidy through the portal in favor of one two-wheeler owned by Trilochan Behera under RTO-II of Bhubaneswar.
Transport Commissioner Arun Bothra said all four-wheeler EV buyers can avail the incentives. However, the two-wheeler EVs will have to qualify based on performance and quality check criteria as specified under Phase II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.
The vehicle information would be automatically collected from Vahana Portal.
The vehicle owner will have to give his/her bank details, and the information regarding the disbursement of subsidy to the bank account would be intimated through SMS.
Principal Secretary of Commerce and Transport department Bishnupada Sethi said the EV policy of Odisha is a progressive one and the portal designed for disbursement of incentives is the first of its kind in the country.
For two-wheelers, the government will provide a subsidy of 15 percent of the cost, up to a maximum of Rs 5,000.
The cap on 15 pc subsidy for three-wheelers is Rs 10,000, and for four-wheelers, it is Rs 50,000, The vehicles purchased on or after September 1, 2021, would be eligible for the subsidy. As per the policy, the provision of subsidy would continue for the next four years.
The conditions included a minimum top speed of 40km/h, minimum acceleration of 0.65m/s2, maximum electric energy consumption not exceeding 7kWh/100 km, and at least three years of comprehensive warranty including a battery warranty from the manufacturer.
In addition to the subsidy, the owners of EVs purchased in Odisha are now getting a 100-pc exemption of motor vehicle (MV) tax and registration fees.