THEBUSINESSBYES
BUREAU
NEW
DELHI, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
Electric mobility is
emerging as an economic, environmental and strategic imperative for achieving
the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba said on Wednesday,
underlining the need for states to accelerate the transition towards electric
vehicles amid a rapid global shift in the automotive sector.
Addressing the NITI
Aayog Workshop on State EV Policies, where the second edition of the India
Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) report was launched, Gauba said the global
transition to electric mobility was already well underway and expected to
gather further momentum in the coming years.
In 2025, electric
cars accounted for around one-tenth of new car sales in the US, more than a
quarter in the European Union and over half in China, he noted, adding that
these shares are expected to rise significantly across the world.
Gauba also pointed to
the recent West Asia crisis as a potential inflection point for electric
mobility, drawing a parallel with the oil crises of the 1970s that accelerated
the global push towards greater fuel efficiency.
For India, the
transition assumes added significance given the country's dependence on
imported crude oil. Nearly 89 per cent of India's crude oil requirements are
met through imports, and this dependence could rise as vehicle ownership
increases unless electric mobility gains wider adoption, he said.
The automotive sector
contributes around 7.1 per cent to India's GDP and supports nearly 1.9 crore
jobs, making its alignment with the global shift towards electric vehicles
critical for the country's economic ambitions.
Gauba also
highlighted the public health implications of vehicular emissions, particularly
in cities such as Delhi, stressing the urgency of moving towards cleaner forms
of mobility.
The government has
already committed more than Rs 92,000 crore in support for electric mobility
through initiatives including FAME, PM E-DRIVE and PM E-bus Sewa, besides
production-linked incentive schemes for automobiles and auto components and for
Advanced Chemistry Cell battery storage, he said.
At the same time,
India's EV charging ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with oil marketing
companies and private players driving the development of charging
infrastructure. The newly launched Unified Bharat e-Charge app is expected to
further strengthen the ecosystem by making charging infrastructure more
accessible and convenient for consumers.
Gauba said states
have a pivotal role in determining the pace and quality of India's electric
mobility transition. As many as 29 of India's 36 states and Union Territories
have now notified EV policies, while IEMI scores indicate broad-based
improvement in state-level preparedness and performance.
The highest state
score on the index has increased from 77 to 84, while the median score has
risen from 36 to 40 over the past year, he said.
The second edition of the IEMI provides states with a data-driven framework to track their progress and formulate evidence-based electric mobility policies. Gauba said variations in states' experiences with e-mobility, stemming from differences in industrial bases, fiscal capacities and geographical conditions, should not be viewed as a complication but as a strength if states learn from one another.
He urged states to focus on electrifying public transport in select cities, ensuring that charging infrastructure is spatially well distributed and reliable, and encouraging greater investment in research and innovation.
