Budget 2026: India's Electric Mobility Shifts to Ecosystem Building

• Budget 2026-27 pivots India's electric mobility strategy from adoption-led expansion to ecosystem building, focusing on domestic manufacturing and reduced import dependencies.
• Transport is a core pillar of India's Atmanirbharta strategy, with significant public capital expenditure directed towards urban mobility, railways, and freight corridors.
• Electric buses are identified as a key entry point for large-scale electrification, with 4,000 new e-buses announced for the Purvodaya region.
• The budget supports domestic battery manufacturing by extending customs duty exemptions for lithium-ion cell production for battery energy storage systems.
• Critical minerals, especially rare earths, are addressed with incentives for prospecting, dedicated corridors, and customs duty elimination on monazite to reduce import dependence on China.