Maxson Lewis, MD and CEO of Mumbai-headquartered electric vehicle charging infrastructure company Magenta shares his expectations from the Budget 2022.

“The fundamental key expectation that we have from Budget 2022 is that charging infrastructure in the country should be enabled at a faster rate. We hope the FAME scheme will increasingly encompass EV charging infrastructure a lot more than what we see in the preceding years.”

“In terms of EV charging, we expect that the Budget will address the critical issue of addressing the electrification of EV charging via Open Access, as well as the associated taxation and wheeling costs. This will necessitate a rethinking of the CERC and Open Access through the perspective of the permitted activity. To reduce working capital constraints in the EV charger manufacturing business, the government could offer end-use-based advantages to the EV industry, such as cutting GST rates on raw materials and permitting duty-free imports, refunds for research and development, as well as capital spending on EV chargers. We would like to urge the government to grant R&D incentives to EV companies. Given the government's Aatmanirbhar India aim, the country must take the lead in creating innovative technologies that will alter the EV industry. To make this happen, the government should incentivise industries and academia to collaborate.”

“To fulfil India's full potential and transition to an age of electric vehicle mobility, it is critical that all key parties acknowledge the importance of the problem and work together to make it a reality by integrating all elements.”