Why in the News?

• NITI Aayog has released the India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2025, with Delhi emerging as the top performer in electric vehicle adoption and e-mobility ecosystem development, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About IEMI (Background, Purpose, Structure, etc.)
• News Summary (Key Findings of the Latest Report)

About the India Electric Mobility Index

• The India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) is a composite index that assesses both the policy framework and implementation outcomes for electric mobility at the state level.
• It was developed by NITI Aayog in collaboration with WRI India. This is the second edition of the index, following the 2024 version.
• Purpose: The index tracks, evaluates and scores all Indian States and Union Territories out of 100. Its objectives are to:
  • Inform decision-making at the state level
  • Foster healthy competition among states
  • Promote sharing of best practices

Structure of the Index

• The IEMI assesses performance across 16 indicators grouped under three core themes, each carrying different weightage:
• Transport Electrification Progress (50% weightage): Evaluates market absorption, consumer acceptance and demand-side momentum by measuring how effectively EVs are being adopted and supported.
• Charging Infrastructure Readiness (30% weightage): Captures charger-to-vehicle ratio, subsidies for charging infrastructure, building bye-laws for charging, and power availability.
• EV Research and Innovation Status (20% weightage): Covers EV startups, research and development initiatives, and patents.

News Summary: Key Findings

• Composite scores across all 36 States and Union Territories range from 10 to 84, with a median score of 40. The top performers are: Delhi (84), Maharashtra (78), Karnataka (73), Chandigarh (71) and Goa (65).
• Compared with the 2024 index, Delhi and Maharashtra retained the top two positions. Karnataka moved up to third, overtaking Chandigarh, while Goa climbed ten spots to fifth place.
• The most notable improvement came from Madhya Pradesh, which rose from 23rd to seventh rank.
• The top score itself improved from 77 in 2024 to 84 in 2025, indicating that leading states are continuing to advance rather than plateauing.

Performance Among Large States

• Of the 17 large states, only Maharashtra and Karnataka featured among the top performers.
• Eight large states qualified as frontrunners, scoring between 50 and 64 out of 100:
  • Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
• Seven large states were classified as emerging performers, scoring between 35 and 49:
  • Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab and Gujarat

Theme-Wise Performance

• Transport Electrification Progress
  • This carries the highest weightage at 50%, and performance here was the weakest overall.
  • Only three States and UTs, Delhi, Chandigarh and Maharashtra, qualified as top performers in this category.
  • The report notes that for most States and UTs, transport electrification progress remains the largest opportunity for improving overall performance.
• Charging Infrastructure Readiness
  • Karnataka recorded the highest score nationwide at 97, followed closely by Goa (92) and Maharashtra (91).
  • This indicates that some states have built charging networks faster than they have converted vehicle fleets, creating a mismatch between infrastructure and adoption.
• EV Research and Innovation
  • Delhi achieved the top score of 94 in this category, reflecting strength in EV startups, R&D activity and patents.

Identified Barriers

• The report identifies three main obstacles to progress:
  • Limited charging infrastructure in many states
  • Dispersed settlements, which make charging networks harder and costlier to build
  • A nascent innovation ecosystem outside a few leading states
• A key observation is that charging rollout and EV adoption are moving at different speeds across the country, a sign that the transition remains uneven.
• With foundational EV policy now in place for most States and UTs, the report argues that the focus must shift from policy formulation to effective implementation.

Why Electrification Matters?

• Road transport accounts for roughly 12% of India's energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, making the sector central to climate goals.
• Beyond emissions, the transition also carries economic and strategic significance.
• Reducing dependence on imported crude oil improves energy security and eases pressure on the current account, a concern that has grown sharper with elevated global oil prices.
• NITI Aayog has framed the transition to electric mobility as an economic, environmental and strategic imperative for the Viksit Bharat 2047 ambition.

India's EV Adoption Trajectory

• The report documents substantial growth in EV uptake:
  • EV penetration, the share of EVs in total vehicles registered, reached 8.25% in 2025-26, up from just 0.5% in 2018.
  • Over 8.7 million EVs were running on Indian roads in 2025-26.
  • Close to 2.5 million EVs were registered during 2025-26 alone, a rise of about 25% over the previous year.

The Global Comparison

• India's 8.25% penetration rate should be read against international benchmarks.
• In 2025, electric cars accounted for:
  • Around one-tenth of new car sales in the United States
  • More than a quarter in the European Union
  • Over half in China
• Projections suggest that by 2040, around 40% of all new car sales globally would be electric.
• India's position reflects both the distance still to cover and the distinct shape of its transition, driven predominantly by two- and three-wheelers rather than passenger cars, which is a pattern suited to Indian mobility patterns and income levels.

Significance of the Index

• The IEMI serves three practical functions.
• It creates comparative pressure among states by making performance visible and ranked, which has proven effective in other policy areas.
• It disaggregates the challenge by separating adoption from infrastructure from innovation, allowing states to identify where specifically they lag.
• It shifts attention to implementation. With most states having formulated EV policies, the constraint is no longer policy design but execution, charger deployment, subsidy disbursement, building code enforcement and grid readiness.