New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- Nudges are not enough anymore. With India's electric vehicle (EV) adoption lagging behind global peers, Niti Aayog is pushing for a sharper pivot by proposing mandates, penalties, and steeper costs for fossil fuel vehicles to make the EV shift inevitable. The proposals mark a strategic shift from a decade of subsidies and incentives to a model that actively disincentivises petrol and diesel use.

In a policy report released Monday, the government think tank called for higher registration fees, tougher emission norms and increased input taxes on internal combustion engine vehicles.

Alongside city-level EV saturation pilots and targeted financing for electric buses and trucks, the push comes amid concerns over supply c...