No deadline: Centre allays auto sector's electric vehicle concerns

Automakers have expressed apprehensions over the government's vigorous push to convert 15 per cent of all vehicle sales in the next five years into electric-powered ones

The government has moved to appease electric vehicle (EV) concerns of the automobile sector, currently in the throes of a slowdown.

Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the government has set no deadline to ban the production of petrol, diesel vehicles or for automobile manufacturers to switch to EVs. “The shift towards EVs will happen as a natural progression,” he reiterated.

On the same day, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal assured automobile companies that their concerns would be heard on the proposed EV policy. The NITI Aayog is a think tank, not a policy-making body, he said