No Proposal To Impose Carbon Tax This Year: Govt

The Union government claims that it has no plans to impose a Carbon Tax during the current financial year. It also added that it would continue to provide hand-holding support to electric vehicle consumers with government incentives.

The response came to the fore when Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the House about the government’s take on the issue in his written reply before the Lok Sabha. Chaudhary made the statement when another Lok Sabha MP Nitish Ganga Deb asked the minister if such a tax could encourage people to switch to green technologies and whether the government had any plans in hand.

“Currently, there is no such proposal to impose carbon tax during the current financial year. However, Govt. of India has given incentives to buyers and manufacturers of electric vehicles…”

The minister meanwhile highlighted the FAME scheme, Production-Linked Scheme (PLI) and the PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell, which is helping in the faster adoption of electric vehicles in the country.

“Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India): The Government notified Phase-II of the FAME India Scheme for a period of five years commencing from 1st April 2019 with a total budgetary support of Rs. 10,000 crore. Under FAME-India Scheme phase-II, incentives are provided to buyers of electric vehicles in the form of an upfront reduction in the purchase price of electric vehicles,” the minister said.