Odisha Govt Launches Portal for Incentive Disbursement under Electric Vehicle Policy

Bhubaneswar: In another step towards hassle-free implementation of Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy-2021, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra launched the online portal for disbursement of the incentives under Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy-2021 from Lokseba Bhawan on Friday.

Principal Secretary Commence and Transport Bishnupada Sethi, Transport Commissioner Arun Bothra and Secretary Electronics and Information Technology Manoj Kumar Mishra were present during this event.

Inaugurating the portal, Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra directed to make the portal robust by linking it with the fund transfer portal of the banks. He asked to automate the entire process with the least human interface. Mahapatra also sanctioned the first subsidy through the portal in favor of one two-wheeler vehicle owned by Trilochan Behera under RTO-II of Bhubaneswar.

Outlining the portal, Principal Secretary Bishnupada Sethi said, “Electric Vehicle Policy of Government of Odisha is a lead progressive policy, and the Portal designed for disbursement of the incentives is first of its kind in the country”. He added, “The portal has been developed within the least possible time through the technical expertise of NIC.

Transport Commissioner Arun Botha said that the State Government incentives like subsidies against the purchase of electric vehicles would be directly disbursed to the vehicle owners through this portal. The vehicles purchased on or after 1.9.2022 would be eligible for the subsidy. As for the current policy, the provision of subsidy would continue onwards for 4 years from 1.9.2022. For two-wheelers the subsidy would be 15 percent of the cost, up to a maximum ceiling of Rs 5,000; for three-wheelers, the cap on 15 percent subsidy would be Rs. 10,000; and, for four-wheelers, it would Rs. 50,000.

The owners of the electric vehicle could now avail the subsidy amount by logging on to odishatransport.gov.in->online services->apply subsidy for electric vehicles. The owner would not be required to run to the RTO office. The vehicle information would be automatically collected from Vahana Portal. The owner would be asked to give his bank details, and the information regarding the disbursement of subsidy to bank account would be intimated through SMS.

Bothra added that all four-wheeler EV buyers could avail above incentives. However, the two-wheeler EVs would have to qualify on the basis of performance and quality check criteria, as specified under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, Phase II. These conditions included (i) Minimum top speed: 40km/h, (ii) Minimum acceleration of 0.65m/s2, (iii) Maximum electric energy consumption not exceeding 7kWh/100km, and (iv)At least three years of comprehensive warranty including battery warranty from the manufacturer.

It may be pertinent here to mention that in addition to this subsidy, the owners of electric vehicles purchased within Odisha are now getting 100% exemption of motor vehicle (MV) tax and registration fees.

Deputy Director General NIC Kabita Roy, Secretary State Transport Authority Brjabandhu Bhol, Additional Transport Commissioner Srinivas Behera, Additional Secretary Commerce &Transport Kishore Das along with senior officers from Odisha State Transport Authority and NIC participated in the launching event.