A graded second version of the performance-linked incentive scheme is needed to boost electric vehicle adoption, that specifically benefits startups and smaller industry players, said Sulajja Firodia Motwani, founder of Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions Ltd.

The EV demand in India, the world’s third-largest automotive market, “still needs to be driven”, Motwani said, while speaking at the 97th annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry in New Delhi on Thursday.

The PLI 1.0 caters to “particular large EVs makers only,” she said, adding that there is a need for a “graded PLI 2.0 for startups and smaller players”.

Motwani, who is also the chair of FICCI’s EV committee, said when incentives taper off, India’s EV industry could be at a “slightly fragile window” where imports could become a threat.

There is a need to relook at tariff and duty structures to prevent that from happening, she stressed. Motwani also highlighted the need for investment in research and development for the whole EV supply chain.

According to Motwani, India must lead the transformation to electric vehicles not just as a consumer, but as a manufacturer. The country has the “potential to shape the future of sustainable mobility globally, and the time to act is now”.

Earlier on Nov. 19, Motwani called for a host of tweaks that could boost the Indian EV market, during the FICCI event named ‘Electric Vehicles – Accelerating E-mobility: Enablers and Imperative’ in New Delhi.

She called for a repletion of funds in the PM E-Drive Scheme for three-wheelers. “Allocations under the scheme are already beginning to exhaust themselves. For three-wheelers, we’ve already run out of money, and that just means that the scheme has been very well received. And we would like to urge MHI to look at an extension of the scheme and to allocate higher budgets toward this green dream,” she said.

Motwani also called for a reduction in the goods and services tax on batteries needs to be reduced to 5%. “And also, GST on charging needs to be reduced to 5%. This will make charging more affordable for our consumers, and it will make batteries more affordable for replacement,” she added.