India's energy transition: subsidies for gasoline, diesel and electric vehicles
A fuel price cut by India’s central government from October 2018 to June 2019 resulted in subsidies of INR 26,957 crore (USD 3.9 billion) for gasoline and diesel. This far overshadowed funding for the government’s flagship electric vehicles (EV) subsidy program of INR 10,000 crore (USD 1.4 billion) over three years. The funds would have been better spent supporting India’s transition to EVs and renewable energy, given that together these technologies will reduce air pollution. This brief examines how the latest support by the Government of India for electric vehicles (EVs) compares with subsidies for conventional vehicles and their main fuels, gasoline and diesel.
