Union Budget 2025: Expectations from the Auto Industry

With the Union Budget 2025 set to be presented on February 1, the Indian automotive sector is eagerly anticipating key policy measures that could shape its future growth. Industry leaders have voiced their expectations, highlighting the need for policy support in areas such as electrification, battery manufacturing, infrastructure, and affordability.

Akash Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Zypp Electric, believes that accelerating the electrification of last-mile delivery is crucial for India’s environmental and economic goals. He suggests continuing to allocate a budget for electric vehicles and implementing a per kilometer or per kg CO2 subvention scheme to incentivize aggregators to expand their EV fleets.

Rajeev Kapur, MD of Steelbird Helmets, emphasizes the need for enhancing road safety by enforcing a compulsory helmet mandate across all states and reducing the GST on helmets to make high-quality safety gear more affordable.

Dhananjaya Bhardwaj, CEO and Founder of ParkMate, is optimistic about the government’s focus on innovation and startups, highlighting the Rs 1 lakh crore fund for private sector R&D as a game-changer.

Deepak Pahwa, Chairman of Pahwa Group and Managing Director of Bry-Air, stresses the urgent need to boost local battery manufacturing, suggesting GST parity by reducing battery taxes to align with other auto components.

Abhijeet Sinha, Project Director of NHEV, points out the importance of climate financing for deploying battery-swapping infrastructure, while Narain Karthikeyan, Founder of DriveX, looks forward to policies promoting transparency and quality in the used two-wheeler market.

Nagesh Basavanhalli, Vice Chairman of Greaves Cotton Limited, believes in the importance of fuel-agnostic technologies and skill development for India’s mobility future, and Samrath Singh Kochar, Founder and CEO of Trontek, emphasizes the need for continued support in the EV and energy storage sectors.