Vivekanada Hallekere, CEO and co-founder, Bounce

"In order to facilitate the faster adoption of electric vehicles, the budget could provide the following: Firstly, extend section 80EEB, granting an exemption of Rs 150,000 towards interest on EV loans to retrofit bikes that have been converted from ICE to EV.

The capital outlay under this option is modest comparatively and a complete exemption on the conversion cost will provide the much-needed boost to EV adaption. Additionally, subsidy benefits under FAME should be extended to retrofit bikes as well.

Second, address range anxiety. Provide tax credit to business owners willing to provide their properties for installing charging infrastructure. Additionally, this benefit can be extended to residential and commercial building owners for installation of chargers in garages and private parking. For corporates, investing in charging infrastructure can be treated as CSR activity.

In order to increase EV share in the overall vehicle market, an improved duty structure would certainly help. The current setup of GST on EVs (5 percent vs 28 percent on ICE vehicles) is a welcome move, however, the GST rates on charging infrastructure services, batteries and all related inputs needs to be aligned, as it currently stands at 18 percent.”