Hyderabad, Mar 24 (TNT): The Telangana government on Tuesday announced discounts of up to 20 per cent on electric vehicles (EVs) for state government employees, following negotiations with leading manufacturers, in a bid to boost clean mobility adoption.
Addressing at a press conferenc here, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the discounts were finalised after talks with companies such as Mahindra Electric, Ola Electric, Gravton Motors and Ather Energy.
The scheme is expected to benefit over five lakh employees, with potential savings of up to ₹4 lakh per family, he said.
He said the initiative is the first of its kind in India, where a state government has negotiated direct purchase discounts with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), rather than relying solely on subsidies or tax incentives.
The announcement comes in addition to Telangana’s EV policy introduced in 2024, which provides 100 per cent exemption on road tax and registration fees.
The Minister said the move aims to make EVs more affordable and accessible, while encouraging wider adoption through government-led demand.
The initiative follows directions from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy mandating all departments to procure only electric vehicles, including those hired for official use in urban areas.
Telangana currently operates over 2,800 electric buses in its public transport system.
Prabhakar said the discounts are being offered under a bulk procurement framework without any direct budgetary subsidy.
He added that the government is in talks with more manufacturers to expand the scheme and is also working to scale up EV charging infrastructure, besides promoting retrofitting of nearly one lakh auto-rickshaws with electric kits to curb urban pollution.
TNT TS
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