India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2025

Source: The Hindu

India Electric Mobility Index: Purpose and Framework

• NITI Aayog, in collaboration with WRI India, released the second edition of the India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2025.
• It evaluates all 36 States and Union Territories on a 100-point scale based on both EV policy frameworks and implementation outcomes.
• Objectives:
• Support state-level decision-making.
• Encourage healthy competition and peer learning.
• Identify best practices and implementation gaps.
• The index uses 16 indicators under three themes:

Key Findings and State-wise Performance

• Composite scores range from 10 to 84, with a median score of 40.
• Top performers: Delhi (84), Maharashtra (78), Karnataka (73), Chandigarh (71) and Goa (65).
• Delhi and Maharashtra retained the top two positions from 2024; Karnataka moved to third, overtaking Chandigarh.
• Goa climbed 10 positions to fifth, while Madhya Pradesh recorded the most notable improvement, rising from 23rd to 7th.
• The highest score increased from 77 in 2024 to 84 in 2025, indicating continued improvement among leading states.
• Among 17 large states, Maharashtra and Karnataka were the only ones among the top performers.

• Large-state categories:
• Frontrunners (50–64): Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Emerging performers (35–49): Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab and Gujarat.

Theme-wise Performance and Major Gaps

• Transport Electrification Progress:
• Carries the highest weightage of 50% but records the weakest overall performance.
• Only Delhi, Chandigarh and Maharashtra qualified as top performers.
• Most States/UTs therefore have their largest opportunity for improving EV adoption.
• Charging Infrastructure:
• Karnataka recorded the highest score (97), followed by Goa (92) and Maharashtra (91).
• Some states are expanding charging infrastructure faster than EV adoption, creating an infrastructure–adoption mismatch.
• Research and Innovation:
• Delhi scored the highest (94), reflecting its relatively strong EV startup, R&D and patent ecosystem.
• Major barriers:
• Inadequate charging infrastructure.
• Dispersed settlements that increase the cost and complexity of charger deployment.
• Limited innovation ecosystems outside leading states.
• With EV policies now established across most States/UTs, the key challenge is shifting from policy formulation to implementation, including charger deployment, subsidy delivery, building-code enforcement and grid readiness.

India’s EV Transition: Significance and Way Forward

• Road transport contributes around 12% of India’s energy-related CO₂ emissions, making electrification important for climate mitigation.
• EV adoption can reduce dependence on imported crude oil, strengthening energy security and reducing pressure on the current account.
• EV penetration increased from 0.5% in 2018 to 8.25% of total registered vehicles in 2025–26.
• More than 8.7 million EVs were operating on Indian roads in 2025–26.
• Nearly 2.5 million EVs were registered during 2025–26, around 25% higher than the previous year.
• India’s transition differs from several developed markets, with two- and three-wheelers playing a particularly important role rather than passenger cars.
• Globally, electric cars accounted for roughly one-tenth of new car sales in the US, more than one-quarter in the EU and over half in China in 2025.
• The IEMI provides a mechanism to:
• Compare state-level performance.
• Identify whether gaps lie in adoption, infrastructure or innovation.
• Shift policy attention from announcing EV policies towards effective implementation.
• Sustained progress requires coordinated action on charging networks, grid capacity, consumer adoption, innovation, subsidies and state-level execution to support India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 objectives.