Budget 2026: Allocation for electric mobility schemes record notable declines

In the Union Budget 2026, allocations for India’s electric mobility (e-mobility) initiatives saw a significant dip, marking a departure from the recent years.

Collective allocation for such schemes declined by over 3,700 crores in the 2025-26 Revised Estimates (RE) compared to the Budgeted Estimates (BE) for the same year. Similarly, collective allocations for such schemes declined by over 900 crores in the 2024-25 actual expenditure compared to the Revised Estimates for the same year.

Union Budget 2026 highlights

Table 1 shows the spending in Rs. crore for India’s electric mobility schemes for 2025-26 BE and 2025-26 RE.

Table 2 shows the spending in Rs. crore for India’s electric mobility schemes for 2024-25 RE and 2024-25 actual expenditure

Programmes under the umbrella term e-mobility include three major schemes with an aim to make road transport more sustainable by replacing fossil fuels and by encouraging the manufacture of electric vehicles and related components in India.

Funding for the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme — a two-year initiative launched in September 2024 to bolster EV adoption and charging infrastructure — has seen a sharp contraction. For 2025-26, the allocation was slashed by ₹2,700 crore, dropping from a Budget Estimate (BE) of ₹4,000 crore to a Revised Estimate (RE) of ₹1,300 crore (Table 1).

This follows a trend of underutilisation in the previous year. In 2024-25, the scheme’s allocation was revised to ₹1,870.76 crore (RE), yet actual expenditure totaled only ₹993.05 crore—representing a shortfall of approximately ₹877 crore (Table 2).

The PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, with a focus on pushing electric bus operations, has seen a similar decline in funds. For 2025-26, the allocation was slashed by ₹1,010 crore, dropping from a Budget Estimate (BE) of ₹1,310 crore to a Revised Estimate (RE) of ₹300 crore (Table 1).

This follows a trend of underutilisation in the previous year. In 2024-25, the scheme’s allocation was revised to ₹500 crore (RE), yet actual expenditure totalled only ₹477 crore—representing a shortfall of approximately ₹23 crore (Table 2).

The Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India (SMEC), which was started in 2024 to encourage adoption and manufacturing of EVs, has also recorded similar declines in allocations.