India doesn't have one national EV subsidy — it has a central scheme that every buyer can access, plus a separate state-level policy that varies by where the vehicle is registered, and several of those state policies have already changed in 2025-26. This is a starting-point overview, not a substitute for checking your own state transport department's current notification before you buy.
The central scheme: PM E-DRIVE
The PM E-DRIVE (PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme replaced FAME-II, which was discontinued in September 2024. It runs with a ₹10,900 crore outlay from 1 October 2024.
- Electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers: a per-kWh demand incentive, reduced from ₹5,000/kWh in FY2024-25 to ₹2,500/kWh in FY2025-26. This portion of the scheme's demand-incentive window for two-wheelers has already closed (July 2026, after one extension).
- Electric cars: ₹10,000 per kWh, capped at ₹1,00,000, for vehicles priced under ₹25 lakh ex-showroom.
- Public infrastructure and commercial fleets — e-buses, e-trucks, e-ambulances, and public charging stations — continue to receive support under the scheme through March 2028, unaffected by the two-wheeler subsidy closing.
This is layered on top of whatever your state offers, not a replacement for it.
How states differ
State policies typically combine two kinds of benefit: an upfront purchase incentive (often per kWh, with a cap) and a road tax / registration fee exemption, which shows up at the time of registration rather than at the showroom. A few states have already let one or both lapse.
| State | Road tax on BEVs | Purchase incentive | |---|---|---| | Punjab | Exempted under a 2023 notification for 3 years from Feb 2023 — that window has passed and no confirmed extension was found; verify locally. See our full Punjab EV policy breakdown. | ₹3,000/kWh by category (2W/3W/e-rickshaw), capped ₹10,000-₹30,000 | | Delhi | 100% waiver, plus 100% registration fee waiver, under the Delhi EV Policy (extended through 2025-26) | Up to ₹30,000 (2W/auto), up to ₹1.5 lakh (cars) | | Maharashtra | Full exemption under the Maharashtra EV Policy 2025-2030 (₹11,373 crore outlay) | ₹5,000/kWh; ₹10,000 (2W), ₹30,000 (e-autos), up to ₹2 lakh (EV taxis) | | Tamil Nadu | Fully waived, through 2027 | Varies by category under the state's EV policy | | Karnataka | No longer a full exemption — a 5-10% road tax by price band now applies | State incentive scheme, category-dependent | | Gujarat | Reduced 1% road tax, through March 2026 | State incentive scheme, category-dependent | | Uttar Pradesh | Road tax waiver expired in October 2025 | State incentive scheme, category-dependent |
Read this table as a starting point, not a final answer. Every row above comes from separate research this month rather than a single primary source the way Punjab's policy was verified (Punjab's own numbers are cross-checked against the actual government notification — see the linked article). State transport department websites and notifications are the authority; several of these numbers (Karnataka's tax band, UP's expiry) show how quickly they move, sometimes with only months of notice.
What this means practically
- Where you register matters, not just where you buy. A car bought in one state but registered in another gets that state's road tax treatment, not the dealership's.
- Expiry dates are real. Several states' benefits above have already lapsed or changed mid-cycle; a scheme being "current" in an article or a dealer's pitch from even a year ago isn't proof it still applies.
- Central and state benefits stack. The PM E-DRIVE car subsidy (up to ₹1,00,000) is separate from and additional to whatever your state's own incentive and road-tax treatment is.
The policy framework behind these schemes
For context on why states structure incentives this way: the International Council on Clean Transportation's Electric Vehicle Guidebook for Indian States frames state EV policy around five consumer barriers every scheme is ultimately trying to address — model availability, cost competitiveness, fleet deployment, usage convenience, and consumer understanding. Purchase subsidies and road-tax exemptions (the two levers covered above) mainly target cost competitiveness; charging-infrastructure mandates and public procurement, which vary just as much by state, target usage convenience and fleet deployment instead.
Retrieved and cross-checked 2026-09-21. State policies change often — treat every figure above as a starting point for your own verification, not a final number to budget around.