The has decided to set up a centre of excellence in one of the universities to promote research and development relating to design and use of electric vehicles (EVs). The government also plans to open Skill development centres in the ITIs to offer courses on repairing and servicing of electric vehicles.
The skill development and technical Education department will initiate training programmes related to jobs in the EV eco-system. Vocational courses may be designed to train EV drivers, mechanics and charging station staff. Possibility of setting up of dedicated skill development centres in the existing ITIs and diploma schools should be examined, said the minutes of a meeting of the state-level task force on implementation of the newly introduced EV Policy, 2021, held under the chairmanship of chief secretary Suresh Mohapatra on September 17.
The proposed centre of excellence will be established at one of the state-run universities funded by the state government with focus on research and development and improvement of usage and efficiency of EVs.
The government has asked the finance department to make a budgetary provision of nearly Rs 47.5 crore annually to provide subsidies to buyers of electric vehicles from this financial year.
As per the policy, financial incentives starting from Rs 5,000 to Rs 4 lakh for different categories of EVs will be provided to the buyers till 2025. Considering the current pace of registration of vehicles, it is estimated that in the next four years, the subsidy in purchase of EVs may touch around Rs 190 crore.