Credit and finance for MSMEs: Under the initiative, SIDBI said it will give MSMEs access to affordable commercial financing for EV loans including hosting of telematics that could help reduce financing costs and provide data for other financial services.
Credit and finance for MSMEs: SIDBI, the principal financial institution for MSMEs in India, on Monday said it has launched mission EVOLVE (Electric Vehicle Operations and Lending for Vibrant Ecosystem) in association with NITI Aayog, World Bank, Korean-World Bank and Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to finance MSMEs in the EV space.
Under the initiative, SIDBI said it will give MSMEs access to affordable commercial financing for EV loans including hosting of telematics that could help reduce financing costs and provide data for other financial services.
The programme comes in the backdrop of SIDBI’s aim to support India’s target for 30 per cent EV penetration by 2030 or EV30@30. “Addressing the challenges of high-interest rates and limited availability of financing to the EV sector, EVOLVE unlocks access to affordable commercial financing for EV Loans,” SIDBI said in a statement.
S Ramann, CMD, SIDBI emphasized creating a database of the EV ecosystem to understand and extend the life of the EVs. “The data would be available for policymakers to assess the gaps and further strengthen the EV ecosystem,” he said.
Importantly, SIDBI had announced a pilot scheme Mission 50,000-EV4ECO in April this year under guidance from NITI Aayog to fund MSMEs finding it difficult to access loans to purchase EVs such as two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers for their day-to-day operations and commercial use. The mission aims to finance 50,000 EVs.
SIDBI, on Monday, said that ‘sanction letters’ under the 50,000-EV4ECO mission were handed over to companies Aristo Securities, Mufin Green Finance, EV Motors, Techsofin, etc., to bring around 5000 2/3w EVs on the road shortly. Moreover, it said that proposals for another 25000 EVs are in the pipeline.
“To support India’s commitment to EV30@30, the SIDBI Mission50K-EV4ECO scheme is a step in the right direction. This shall enable access to affordable financing for electric vehicles. The sanction offered to beneficiaries under both the schemes of SIDBI is an appreciated effort and many more miles to go in this EV transitional journey,” said Sudhendu Sinha, Adviser (Infra & e-mobility), NITI Aayog.
EV sales had surpassed the 1 million mark in India in the financial year 2022-23 with 11,52,021 units sold, up 58 per cent from 7,26,861 units sold in FY22, according to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV). Two-wheelers had the highest share of 62 per cent with 7,26,976 units sold in FY23.
