Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy met the founders of electric vehicle (EV) companies in Bengaluru, amidst a call to include new-age EV companies in the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
Under this government's scheme to promote EV adoption and manufacturing, automakers must have a minimum global group automotive revenue of Rs 10,000 crore and fixed assets of at least Rs 3,000 crore to qualify for the main incentive.
Owing to this threshold, many smaller and electric-first startups are unable to qualify for the incentives. The representatives who met Kumaraswamy included Ather Energy co-founder Tarun Mehta, River co-founder Aravind Mani, Euler Motors founder and CEO Saurav Kumar, Matter founder Mohal Lalbhai and Raptee founder Dinesh Arjun.
“Chaired an interaction with stakeholders from India’s electric two-wheeler and EV manufacturing ecosystem to deliberate on strengthening indigenous manufacturing and unlocking greater opportunities for Indian-made electric vehicles in domestic and global markets. The discussions also covered industry perspectives on the PM E-DRIVE Scheme and the PLI Auto Scheme. I assured the stakeholders of all possible support towards building a robust, innovation-driven and globally competitive EV ecosystem in the country,” said Kumaraswamy.
Tarun Mehta of Ather said new-age EV companies are among India’s largest investors in research and development and manufacturing, while also leading investments, capacity creation and job generation across the sector.
“India's new-age deep-tech companies are among the largest investors in R&D and manufacturing and play a key role in driving EV innovation. The industry has been advocating for a more inclusive PLI eligibility framework that recognizes investments in indigenous R&D, advanced manufacturing, employment generation, and exports, while creating a level playing field,” he added.