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Inter-Ministerial Panel Approves 5,645 Electric Buses For 65 Cities As Push For Electrification Intensifies
Swarajya Staff
Jul 30, 2019, 12:25 PM | Updated 12:25 PM IST
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In a move towards environment-friendly mobility and push towards electrification, an inter-ministerial panel has authorised 5,645 electric buses for operating in 65 cities, the Hindu Businessline reports.
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Monday (29 July) tweeted:
The inter-ministerial committee for EV Vehicles today sanctioned 5645 electric buses for intracity operations in 65 cities and for intercity operations to 8 state transport undertakings. This will give huge impetus to automobile sector, clean up our cities & drive Make in India.
— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) July 29, 2019
The move comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led GST council reduced taxes on EVs from 12 per cent to 5 per cent from 1 August. The centre has been bringing in changes to popularise environment-friendly electric vehicles (EV).
During the budget 2019-20, the centre proposed additional tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loans to purchase EVs. Further, various parts of EVs are also exempted from customs duty.
The think tank has proposed that two-wheelers below 150cc capacity sold in the country from 31 March 2025, need to run on electric. Further, all three-wheelers sold after 31 March 2023 need to be electric only.
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