India’s electric vehicle (EV) push is being stymied by a lack of policy coherence, at a time when the need to decarbonize public and individual transport has never been more urgent.

Two recent developments illustrate how policy inconsistencies across states could slow the country’s transition to low-emissions transport. In an aggressive policy intervention, the Delhi government last week proposed an EV policy mandating that only electric two-wheelers be registered by 2028 and 100% road tax waiver for electric cars. Nearly coinciding with this announcement came a notification from the Karnataka government slapping a lifetime road tax on the sale of all electric cars.

While the Delhi policy prescription is forward-looking, doing away with the lifetime tax exemption for electric four-wheelers under ₹2.5 million (~$26,798) in Karnataka has been widely criticized as regressive and rightly so. Ironically, Karnataka has been one of the leading states in EV adoption, second only to Maharashtra.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi slammed the Karnataka move, calling the decision an indirect encouragement of diesel and petrol vehicles by making EVs costlier.

These announcements exemplify the one-step-forward, two-steps-backward nature of policymaking in India’s EV sector, potentially delaying transport electrification.

The EV policy matrix across the states and the Central government shows varying levels of adoption targets, demand and supply-side incentives and mandates, and policy timelines. While the lack of policy uniformity is one side of the story, the gap between policy pronouncements and execution is another. Recently, a leading two-wheeler manufacturer has been considering shifting its manufacturing operations from Maharashtra to other states due to delays in subsidy payments.

No one argues that all states should have identical policies, especially given India’s federal system, which allows states ample autonomy and flexibility to tailor their approaches to local needs. The question, however, is whether the policies align with India’s broader energy transition objectives.

India aims for 30% of all vehicles to be EVs by 2030. Sales of EVs are growing year-over-year, although the pace of growth is slower than in markets such as the U.S., EU, and China. In the first quarter of 2026, sales rose to 696,769 units, up 35% from 514,198 units in the same quarter last year, according to the Ministry of Transport and Highways data. India now has over 8.35 million registered EVs, while the total vehicle count is close to 400 million. EV sales accounted for just about 9% of all vehicle sales in 2025, a reminder that there is still a long way to go.

The case for a more rapid decarbonization of transport is strengthened by the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran. India relies heavily on West Asia for its oil and gas supplies, which are now being squeezed by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime waterway controlled by Iran.

The auto gas shortage has led to long queues of three-wheeler transport vehicles at pumps across India. Private oil companies have increased petrol and diesel prices, although no nationwide shortages have been reported.

The war has driven home the point that India needs to diversify its energy sources to reduce its heavy reliance on oil and gas and insulate itself from future geopolitical shocks. While the transport sector’s dependence on fossil fuels will not go away in a hurry, India will do well to quickly pivot to accelerate EV adoption. For that to happen, it must urgently address policy inconsistencies across states and put in place a uniform, predictable framework to support EV adoption at scale.